By Peter Effiom
On Tuesday, May 26, the Federal High Court in Abuja declared that former President Goodluck Jonathan is qualified to run for president in 2027.
In a lawsuit brought by attorney Johnmary Jideobi, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that Jonathan was eligible to run for office.
Jideobi has petitioned the court for an order prohibiting Jonathan from running for president in 2027 with any political party.
Additionally, the plaintiff wanted to prevent Jonathan’s name from being accepted, processed, or published as a presidential candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Jideobi said that since Jonathan had already taken the oath of office twice, he was no longer qualified to run for president.
The plaintiff claimed in his affidavit that if former President Jonathan were to win the 2027 presidential election and serve a four-year term from 2027 to 2031, he would have exceeded the eight years that Nigerian presidents are legally allowed to hold office.
According to Justice Lifu’s ruling, Jideobi did not have the legal right to file the lawsuit because he had not been harmed by Jonathan’s alleged plan to run for office in 2027.
The judge stated that he was bound by the appellate court’s ruling, citing the Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal’s earlier rulings that Jonathan was qualified to run. “An abuse of court process” is how he characterised Jideobi’s lawsuit.
Justice Lifu fined Jideobi N20 million in favour of Jonathan. The court also granted a N1 million fine against the plaintiff in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
However, Jonathan has not stated if he plans to run for office in 2027. He stated that he is still providing consultations; it is unclear how long they will last.
Jonathan was approved as the Kabiru Turaki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to run for president in the 2027 election.
According to former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, the screening committee determined that Jonathan was qualified to run because he had held positions as deputy governor, governor, vice president, and president.
Jonathan became the party’s candidate in the 2027 election after the party granted him a waiver.
It is anticipated that Jonathan’s 2027 campaign will upend Nigerian politics. House of Representatives member Fred Agbedi has stated that Jonathan will run on the PDP platform once more, although he has not disclosed his plans.
Using the PDP as a platform to run for office is a significant issue for Jonathan. There will probably be two presidential candidates from the PDP, which is currently divided. Professor Sandy Onor is the nominee put out by the group supported by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike.
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