Jonathan Decries Invasion Of States By Governors, Top Government Officials, Party Leaders For Campaign

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has deplored the tendency of serving Governors, Ministers and other top Government officials invading states during off-circle polls.

This is as he commended the Osun electorate ,the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC , security agencies and other relevant authorities for the peaceful conduct of Saturday, August 15, Governorship election in Osun State.

In a statement he personally signed on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Jonathan said that the emerging pattern in which Government functionaries descend on States during off-circle elections, if not urgently checked could exact  undue pressure on the country’s democratic arrangement.

According to him, the unwholesome practice as witnessed recently in Ondo, Ekiti and Osun States portends serious danger to the survival of constitutional democracy in Nigeria.

He, however, described the peaceful conduct and the outcome of the August 15, 2026, gubernatorial election in Osun State as a positive signal to the fact that democracy is gaining  foothold in the country.

‘”While we commend the electoral process itself, there are developments surrounding the election and more importantly, an emerging trend in political conducts during off-circle elections that raises concerns.

“The growing practice whereby serving Governors , senior political office holders , party leaders and influential Government functionaries , accompanied by large number of aides, and heavy security details from outside a State, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention.

“The conduct witnessed around the recent elections in Osun , Ekiti and Ondo States was ,in my view , unusual . It is not a practice that should become normal in a democratic society”, Jonathan stated

The former President referenced similar developments in Anambra State in 2013, and Ekiti state in 2014  when top Government officials and political leaders literally invaded the states during their off-circle Governorship elections.

“Upon being briefed, I ordered party leaders and senior Government officials to leave the States immediately”, he recalled.

Describing the practice as unwholesome, the former President  warned that if allowed to persist, it has the dangerous potential of undermining and inflicting long-term unpalatable consequences on the country’s democratic arrangement .

While acknowledging the right of political parties to campaign during elections, Jonathan however insisted on the deployment of what he described as “political parties legitimate structures for the purposes of mobilising supporters.

“However, there is a point at which political mobilisation, particularly when it involves the overwhelming presence of serving Governors, senior public officials and powerful political actors from across the country on election day, can create an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation, bullying and undue pressure.

“We must ask ourselves whether the Increasing deployment of political power and large-scale mobilisation by senior office holders on election day in states holding election is consistent with the spirit of free, fair and peaceful democratic competition. This hardly happens in other democratic countries

“We must not allow political competition to become a contest in which victory is perceived as something that must be achieved at all costs

“If the current trend becomes established, what happens when Governors from opposing political parties begin to descend on every state holding competitive elections?

“What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political powe , Governmental influence with Government influence and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?

“Such a development will not strengthen our democracy. It would deepen political tensions and could make elections increasingly resemble battles for political survival rather than peaceful contests for the mandate of the people”, Jonathan noted.

He, therefore, urged the National Peace Committee to urgently convene a stakeholders meeting to deliberate on the emerging trend and others with a view to agreeing on a standards that would serve to further protect and preserve democracy in Nigeria.