2023 Presidency: Jonathan Reportedly Makes U-turn On APC Ticket, Gives Positive Consideration

From Ogundele Olanrewaju

A late-night meeting between former President Goodluck Jonathan and leaders of the Fulani community in Abuja who procured the N100 million presidential nomination forms for him ended in the conclusion that he will consider running on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Vanguard reports that during a meeting with the pro-Jonathan stakeholders on Tuesday, May 10, he expressed his displeasure over the purchase of the nomination form without his consent, a fault they were said to have admitted and apologised for.

The apology was made by Dr. Ibrahim Abdullahi, the leader of the Fulani community. On their part, the pastoralists were said to have explained that they made the move in appreciation of their gratitude to him for the N60 billion investments he made for the Almajiris during his tenure in the form of schools and investment opportunities.

A source who attended the meeting told the newspaper that after listening to the position of the herders, the former president accepted their plea to consider running for the APC ticket and promised to give them feedback as soon as possible, even if no date was tied to this. Even more, most members of the inner caucus of Jonathan’s loyalists who were behind the opposition to his rumoured plan to defect to the ruling party for its presidential ticket have now changed their position.

Consequently, top members of the caucus have joined the camp of the Fulani pastoralists in completing the APC presidential nomination form for Jonathan so as to meet the deadline for submission at the national secretariat in Abuja. A source was quoted to have said: “I can tell you that Jonathan’s loyalists cut across party lines and majority of them have really been encouraging him to run. That is why some of them are helping with the completion of the nomination form for the former president.”

Meanwhile, Punch has it that some APC leaders have initiated efforts to adopt Jonathan as the party’s consensus presidential candidate in 2023. The said efforts formed part of the discussions between Jonathan and the APC’s national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, in Abuja on Monday, May 9.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal assistant on new media, Bashir Ahmad, said Jonathan had dumped the opposition PDP for the ruling APC.

He wrote: “So Goodluck Jonathan has dumped the opposition PDP and now member of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).”