Get Guardian on GoogleThe Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to publicly reject a reported presidential nomination offered to him by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Keyamo made the call following the announcement by a PDP faction led by Tanimu Turaki, which recently named Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The development came weeks after another PDP faction aligned with supporters of Nyesom Wike unveiled Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate.
Reacting in a post on X, Keyamo questioned the legitimacy of the nomination, arguing that the group behind it is not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“This is some kind of bizarre comedy taken too far by supposedly grown adults and some names that were actually in the corridors of power at some point in this country,” he wrote.
The minister further criticised those behind the move, saying they were dragging a former president into a political exercise he described as lacking credibility.
“Giving a whole Presidential ticket to an ex-President and statesman by proxy and by a bunch of people not even registered on INEC’s website.
“And they don’t give a hoot, dragging such a revered figure into their charade that is certainly a journey to nowhere. Quite sad,” he stated.
Keyamo urged Jonathan to immediately distance himself from the nomination in order to protect his reputation and international standing.
“For the sake of his global image, President Goodluck Jonathan must immediately issue a strong ‘no, thank you’ statement,” he said.
He added that failure to do so could revive memories of the “clueless” label often associated with Jonathan’s administration during the 2015 election campaign.
Jonathan has yet to publicly respond to the nomination announced by the Turaki-led PDP faction.
