“Jonathan Constitutionally Barred From 2027 Presidential Race” – Orji Kalu

By Gideon Njoku

A former two-term Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has advised former President Goodluck Jonathan not to waste time in preparing to contest for a second term in office in 2027.

Jonathan lost his bid for a second term in office in 2015 when he was defeated by late President Muhammadu Buhari who ran under the All Progressives Congress, APC. That defeat was championed by current President Bola Tinubu who rallied opposition parties behind him, and was the  APC Leader.

Jonathan ran under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but lost mainly due to sabotage from within even his own Party.

In the run up to the 2027 Presidential Election, as was the case in 2023,   not a few people have been throwing Jonathan’s name in as a Presidential candidate. There has been a lot of pressure on him too as well as lobbying by those who want him to run.

But even though Jonathan has not said a word as to whether he would run or not, obstacles are already being thrown his way. Recently, he came under an inexplicable blistering attack by Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga. Onanuga not only rubbished Jonathan’s performance in office, but threatened him  with a Court action. Even if he contested and won, Onanuga said, it would be the Court’s job to decide whether he was qualified to run or not.

A couple of days ago, one lawyer went to Court to stop Jonathan from running in 2027, toeing Onanuga’s position that Jonathan is barred by the Constitution from running having been sworn-in two times as President  – first, when as Vice President, he served out the tenure of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua when the later passed on, and second, in 2011 when he contested and won.

Kalu, speaking Wednesday on a  Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, even though he had said a combination of Jonathan, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi would be defeated by President Tinubu, still went on to tell Jonathan not to run because, “Constitutionally, Jonathan is barred from running.”

For the records, two Courts had declared Jonathan qualified to run for another term since he was sworn-in the first time just to serve  out Yar’Adua’s first term in office.