2027 Election: Adeyanju Mentions 'Only Person' in South Who Stands Any Chance of Defeating Tinubu
by Ridwan Adeola, https://www.facebook.com/legitngnews · Legit.ng News · Join- Deji Adeyanju commented on the possibility of Goodluck Jonathan contesting the 2027 election against incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
- The public commentator gave the former president a chance of defeating Tinubu in an electoral contest, citing the erstwhile leader's purported acceptance in the south
- Top opposition platforms like the PDP and ADC are reportedly considering Jonathan for their respective platform's 2027 presidential ticket
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, and governance in Nigeria.
FCT, Abuja - Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Deji Adeyanju has mentioned former President Goodluck Jonathan as "the only person in southern Nigeria who stands any chance" of beating President Bola Tinubu.
Legit.ng reports that Adeyanju, a former head of new media for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recently turned up the heat on 'Obidients', a sobriquet for die-hard supporters of Peter Obi, a presidential hopeful and candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.
Adeyanju speaks ahead of 2027 election
Adeyanju, who had expressed his preference for activist Omoyele Sowore for the Nigerian presidential seat, intensified his criticism of 'Obidients' following a social media clash with Serah Ibrahim, an ally of Obi. According to him, he voted for Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC) during the 2023 election, but will not mind electing President Tinubu in the 2027 election should the African Democratic Congress (ADC) opposition coaltion present Obi as its flagbearer.
In a social media post on Sunday, September 7, outspoken Adeyanju appeared to taunt Obidients by declaring Jonathan as the only political figure of southern extraction with the capacity to defeat President Tinubu at the polls. Messrs Obi and Jonathan are from the southern region of Nigeria.
Legit.ng reports that Jonathan served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General, late Muhammadu Buhari.
Since he was defeated in the 2015 presidential election, Jonathan has transmogrified into an elder statesman. However, some political stakeholders have commented on the possibility of the 67-year-old staging a comeback and challenging his southern compatriot, Tinubu.
Adeyanju wrote on his known X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday, September 7:
“GEJ is the only person in Southern Nigeria that stands any chance of defeating Tinubu. If not GEJ in the coalition, let the north have the ticket.”
Jonathan has reinvented himself, says governance advocate
Public affairs and policy advocate Kalu Okoronkwo has reacted to Deji Adeyanju’s statement that former president Goodluck Jonathan is the only politician from the South who stands a chance against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Speaking with Legit.ng, Okoronkwo said Jonathan has rebuilt his public image in recent years, earning recognition as a respected statesman and peace ambassador across Africa.
His words:
“For me Jonathan has reinvented himself and invested heavily in developing himself as a leader of choice in Africa, exposed, confident and can be trusted based on what we can see as his role in peace keeping efforts across Africa.”
The leadership and governance noted that Jonathan, if eligible, has the right to contest again:
“If he chooses to join the race and the law permits it, it is his personal right as a citizen who also has good experience to offer as former president and Africa's peace ambassador.”
However, he stressed that it remains uncertain whether Jonathan can defeat Tinubu:
“But whether he can outperform the current president, is not an assessment I, or any other person can truly predict for now especially as Deji is making that insinuations on bias because of his personal differences with Peter Obi.”
Okoronkwo further faulted Adeyanju’s position on the southwest’s political preference.
“Deji doesn't have the authority to tell South West who can be best for us,” he said.
Read more on 2027 election:
- 2027 election: Groups seeking to register as political parties with INEC surge
- 2027 election: CSO leaders warn exclusion may lead to unrest, instability
- '2027 election may turn out to be worst-ever in Nigeria's history'
Jonathan's eligibility to contest
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a federal high court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, ruled that former President Jonathan was eligible to contest in the 2027 election.
The court's decision was delivered on May 27, 2022, by Justice Isa Dashen.
According to Justice Dashen, a section of the Nigerian constitution, which bars individuals sworn in two times from contesting for the presidency, cannot be applied revisionally to Jonathan's situation.
Editorial assistant Ololade Olatimehin provided exclusive commentary from a good governance advocate for this report.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.