Jonathan Mum As Wike, Makinde’s Camps Clash Over His Affirmation

Former president Dr Goodluck Jonathan remained silent yesterday amid escalating tensions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over moves by rival camps loyal to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, over his presidential candidacy affirmation scheduled for today.

The Makinde-backed PDP led by Tanimu Turaki on Thursday declared that it would affirm Jonathan as presidential candidate of the party in Abuja today.

The faction, on Tuesday, declared it screened and cleared the former president to be its candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the same day the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja declared Jonathan eligible to contest in the 2027 general elections.

Justice Peter Lifu made the declaration while delivering judgment in a suit seeking to bar Jonathan from participating in future presidential elections, having taken the oath of office twice as president.

However, on the same Tuesday, the Wike-backed PDP led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, affirmed and issued certificate to Prof Sandy Onor as the party’s presidential candidate. The Wike group had dismissed the Jonathan candidacy saga.

However, while this drama played, Jonathan, who served as president on the platform of the PDP from 2009 to 2015, has remained silent, refusing to comment on the saga. He has neither denied nor confirmed the claims of his adoption by the Turaki group.

His last comments on the 2027 presidency was three weeks ago, when he told a group which called on him to join the race that he would consult widely on the matter.

Although he has made some public appearances since then, he has not made any comment on the matter, neither has his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, responded to calls from LEADERSHIP Weekend on the matter.

But reacting yesterday to today’s planned affirmation of Jonathan by the Turaki group, the Wike-backed PDP accused the faction of instigating political tension.

It further called on security agencies to investigate the source of the reports and prosecute those behind what it described as attempts to create political tension in the country.

The faction also called on Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from reports linking him to the planned affirmation convention, describing the move as false, unauthorised, and capable of causing confusion within the polity.

In a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, the group insisted that no recognised organ of the party had approved or scheduled such a convention.

“The party wishes to categorically state that no such convention, meeting, or process has been scheduled, approved, or endorsed by the leadership or any recognised organ of the Peoples Democratic Party,” the statement read.

The faction maintained that the PDP had already concluded all its primary elections in line with the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines, and the party’s constitution.

It further urged Jonathan to publicly distance himself from the process in order to protect his reputation and preserve the integrity of the democratic process.

“In view of this development, we respectfully call on former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from this charade,” the statement added.

The Wike-backed faction also called on security agencies to investigate the source of the reports and prosecute those behind what it described as attempts to create political tension in the country.

“We also call on relevant security agencies to swiftly investigate the source of these false reports and take appropriate action against the perpetrators whose motive is nothing but to create political tension in the country.

“The PDP will henceforth not fold its arms and allow the Party to be dragged into disrepute through falsehood, misinformation, and unauthorised political activities aimed at undermining its integrity and democratic structures.

“The party remains totally committed to due process, internal democracy, and the rule of law in all its political activities and engagements, and will continue to protect the sanctity of its constitutional processes and decisions.”

However, the PDP bloc aligned with Makinde and led by Turaki insisted that the special convention to ratify Jonathan’s candidature would proceed as planned today in Abuja.

The faction accused Wike of attempting to frustrate the gathering by allegedly threatening to shut down the venue of the event.

They were reacting to a statement by the  Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) which warned owners of hotels, event centres and other public facilities in Abuja against allowing their premises to be used by illegal organisations, saying property titles of offenders risk revocation.

The warning, issued on Friday in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, comes amid heightened political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The FCTA stressed that all lands within the Federal Capital Territory are strictly designated for lawful use, warning that any property used to host gatherings of organisations operating outside the law would face severe sanctions.

It stated: “Going forward, title documents of any event centre, hotel or public building that is used for the gathering of illegal organisations will be revoked.

“The administration said hotels, event centres and similar facilities across the FCT would now be placed under close monitoring to ensure they are not used for activities capable of undermining public peace and security.”

Reacting however, the National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee of the PDP faction, Ini Ememobong, claimed that the management of A Class Event Centre in Wuse 2 informed them of alleged threats from the FCT minister.

“We have been informed by the proprietors of A Class Event Centre of the threat by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to shut down their business premises if the Peoples Democratic Party is allowed to use their hall for our presidential candidate ratification ceremonies,” the statement said.

The Turaki-led faction stated that it had fully paid for the venue and notified relevant security agencies about the event, adding that its lawyers had been directed to remind the event centre of the binding agreement already reached.

Despite the alleged intimidation, the group maintained that the convention would hold as scheduled at the A Class Event Centre, Wuse 2, Abuja, by 10 a.m.

“We reiterate that the special convention to ratify the presidential candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan will hold as scheduled,” the statement added.

The faction described any attempt to suppress political opposition as undemocratic and contrary to the rule of law, insisting that the FCT Minister had no constitutional powers to determine which political events should be held in Abuja.

“There is nowhere in our laws where the Minister of the FCT is empowered to determine events that should be held and where they should be held,” the group stated.