The Presidency has hit back at calls by former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election, warning that Nigerians would not forget what it described as his “dismal record in office.”
In a statement on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said President Bola Tinubu would welcome Jonathan into the race but stressed that the former leader would be judged both in the courts and by Nigerians.
“Former President Jonathan is welcome to the race. Nigerians will remember his dismal record in office,” Onanuga declared.
He added that Jonathan’s eligibility could still be a subject of legal challenge: “Jonathan will have his date in the court of the land. Indeed, the jury will determine whether Jonathan, who was sworn in twice as president, satisfies the constitutional requirements and is eligible to contest the presidency and be sworn in, if successful, for a third term in office.”
Onanuga dismissed Gana’s push as “absurd,” accusing opposition figures of prematurely heating up the political space. He described Gana’s move as “his usual comedy,” arguing that drafting Jonathan would only give him another political assignment.
The presidential aide also cautioned Jonathan against relying on what he called “sugar-coated cheerleaders” within the PDP, claiming they would abandon him as they did in 2015. “They merely want to lure him into the race to satisfy their personal, political, religious, and ethnic interests. They will abandon him midstream and leave Gentleman Jonathan in the lurch,” he said.
Onanuga faulted Jonathan’s economic stewardship, recalling that he inherited $66 billion in reserves in 2010 but left office in 2015 with “foreign reserves below $30 billion and the Excess Crude Account depleted to $2 billion, despite record oil revenues.” He added that by December 2014, at least 28 states could not pay workers’ salaries.
In contrast, he highlighted President Tinubu’s record, stating: “In slightly over two years, the Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23%, the highest in four years. Inflation decreased to 20.12% in August 2025, the lowest in three years. Foreign reserves stand presently at $42.03 billion. The Naira has virtually stabilised. Investor confidence in our economy has been restored, and investors are betting on Nigeria.”
Onanuga cited key reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and infrastructure projects including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as proof of progress.
“President Jonathan and others are welcome to the 2027 race,” he concluded. “They broke the economy before, but millions of Nigerians who will not easily forget the recent past will not allow them to return to run it down again.”
