Former President Jonathan won’t contest under APC — Senator Olujimi

• Oluwajana, Babatope Fume Over His Alleged Party Membership

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Ekiti South Constituency in the Senate, Abiodun Olujimi, has said she is confident that former President, Goodluck Jonathan would not contest for presidency under the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC).

She made the remarks during a monitored live interview on Television Continental (TVC). It would be recalled that the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Friday, cleared the former President, saying “ he is eligible to contest for Presidency in 2023.”

Olujimi said: “ I am very sure that ex-President Jonathan will not contest under the ruling APC because he is a man of integrity.”

The lawmaker, however said the PDP would not resort to campaign of calumny, unlike the APC that was desperate to wrestle power in 2015.”

Also reacting to the court ruling, the former APC National Vice Chairman, South-west Zone, Mr. Bankole Oluwajana and erstwhile member, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, have expressed displeasure over the development.

In separate telephone interactions with The Guardian, yesterday, the duo said: “The development is not just laughable, but absolutely irritating.”

Oluwajana said: “If Jonathan wants to contest election, it is completely unheard of to mention APC as his platform. Even Jonathan’s membership status in the ruling party is completely uncertain. The rumour of Jonathan running under the APC platform remains a hear-say. Nobody has informed us that Jonathan has joined the APC. Many of us still don’t see him as our member.

“And again, how do I tell Nigerians that Jonathan is our arrow man for next year’s presidential election? We know what we did in 2014 and 2015, when we were campaigning for President Buhari. We told Nigerians and the entire world that everything about Jonathan was bad. There was no name we didn’t call him. So, how do I go back to tell Nigerians that all that we said about the former president were lies? And, if some people want APC to lose this election, let them say so. They should not allow us to waste our time…”

In the same vein, Babatope said he wasn’t surprised because anything could happen under President Buhari.

“Anything, everything and whatsoever, is possible under Buhari. Even the name of a late individual could be included in the appointment list under this government.”

He said his comments could only be objective after Jonathan himself must have made a clear comment on the development.

“It is a shameful and laughable scenario, not only for APC but also for the integrity of Nigeria and Nigerians,” Babatope said:

He continued: “ What name did APC not call Jonathan in 2015? How else did they not vilify the person of this man with malicious propaganda, seven years ago? It is laughable and extremely irritating that this is happening to Nigeria under Buhari.

“It amounts to playing on the intelligence of Nigerians. I think the leaders of the ruling party from this part of the country can see what we told them, which they refused to understand then.?