September 29, (THEWILL) — The Presidency has said that former President, Goodluck Jonathan, is free to contest the 2027 elections but warned that Nigerians would not forget what it described as his “dismal record in office”.
In a statement on Monday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the move by some opposition leaders, including former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, to draft Jonathan into the race reflects desperation within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Onanuga described Gana’s claim that Jonathan could defeat President Bola Tinubu as “self-delusion”, arguing that the former president presided over years of economic decline and poor governance that Nigerians decisively rejected in 2015.
“Jonathan is welcome to the race if he wishes, but the jury is still out on whether he is even constitutionally eligible after being sworn in twice”, the statement read. “Even more importantly, Nigerians will judge him on his disastrous six years in office, which brought the economy to its knees.”
The Presidency accused Jonathan of squandering oil revenues during his tenure, depleting reserves and the Excess Crude Account despite record-high oil prices. It also cited allegations of mismanagement of security funds under his administration, noting that by 2014, many states and even the Federal Government struggled to pay salaries.
By contrast, Onanuga said President Tinubu has taken “bold economic reforms” in the past 28 months, including subsidy removal and exchange rate unification, which have stabilised the naira, boosted foreign reserves to $42 billion, and restored investor confidence.
He added that the country recorded 4.23% GDP growth in Q2 2025 and a drop in inflation to 20.12%, the lowest in three years. The statement also highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway as evidence of Tinubu’s developmental strides.
“The nation has turned the corner. The PDP broke the economy; President Tinubu is fixing it. Nigerians will not allow those who ran the country aground to return in 2027”, Onanuga declared.
The development comes amid rising political manoeuvres ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition figures rallying for possible challengers to President Tinubu.
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