Former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has urged former President Goodluck Jonathan not to contest the 2027 presidential election, warning that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is no longer the cohesive political structure it was during Jonathan’s tenure.
Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, made the remarks on Sunday as a guest on Sunday Politics, a Channels Television programme.
The senator noted that Jonathan’s name surfaces whenever presidential elections approach, but said the prevailing political climate makes a return ill-advised.
“Each time there is an election, the name of Jonathan comes up, but it is his volition to contest. However, I advise him not to do that. The reason is very simple: the PDP he used to know is not the PDP now,” Sani said.
According to him, the party has been weakened by internal divisions, with some blocs openly aligning with President Bola Tinubu and others collapsing into new opposition alliances.
Jonathan, who rose to the presidency in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, won the 2011 election on the PDP platform but lost his re-election bid to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
Though constitutionally entitled to serve one more term, he has not indicated interest in contesting again.
Speculation about Jonathan’s possible comeback has persisted since May 2022, when a Federal High Court in Yenagoa ruled that he remains constitutionally eligible to contest future elections. The court clarified that Section 137(3) of the Constitution, which limits the tenure of anyone who assumes office mid-term, cannot be applied retroactively.
Despite that legal clearance, several political figures and analysts have counselled Jonathan to resist pressure to return.
Earlier this month, Elder Anthony Sani, former Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, advised Jonathan against re-entering the race, warning that doing so could undermine the principle of rotational equity and erode his legacy as a statesman.
With the 2027 general elections still more than a year away, conversations around succession, zoning, and regional equity are already dominating political discourse.
Names such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Jonathan, and other opposition figures continue to feature prominently in speculations about who might challenge Tinubu.
