Don’t Dent Your Image By Running In 2027, Sagay Tells Jonathan

…Those Asking Him To Run Are Selfish Elements — Afegbua
…Obidients Deny Begging Ex-President To Step Down For Obi

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), has coun­seled ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to ignore those prompting him to contest in the 2027 presidential election.

Several groups have been calling on Jonathan, who lost the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stage a political comeback in 2027.

Jonathan is yet to decide whether to accept their demands or not.

Speaking with Daily Indepen­dent, Sagay said it will be a grave mistake if Jonathan decides to contest the 2027 as he will lose the honour and deep respect he enjoys among Nigerians.

“I won’t advise him to contest again in 2027. He left office in 2015 with a very high honour of being somebody who was democratic. He accepted the result of the pres­idential election which was neg­ative to him even though he was the one who was the incumbent president. It is not something that is very common in this part of the world but Jonathan proved to be different. He left office with great respect and high honour.

“Now that some people are asking him to run again in 2027, I will not advise him to becloud or dent his image by trying to contest, particularly as he is not likely to win in any case. It will be a mistake for him if he contests. I won’t advise him to contest. He is highly respected everywhere in this country and globally. He should maintain that honour be­cause it will be a grave mistake for him to come back”, he said.

Speaking in a similar vein, a former Commissioner for Infor­mation in Edo State, Prince Kassim Afegbua, also said Jonathan should not rubbish his existing credentials as a true democrat by contesting in the 2027 presidential election.

Afegbua said those goading Jonathan to run in 2027 are hell-bent on destroying his good reputation which he achieved by accepting defeat and handing over to his opponent, the late Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.

Afegbua said Jonathan will lose woefully if he decides to run against President Bola Tinubu, who is expected to seek reelection on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“First and foremost, I will personally appeal to former Pres­ident Jonathan not to rubbish his existing credentials of being seen as a true democrat who was de­feated in a presidential election and he accepted the outcome of that election without spilling blood. That kind of conduct has elevated his statesmanship to the point that everywhere, people are inviting him for election observa­tion, international awards, public speaking and all of that. That is the hallmark of the recognition given to him by that rare conduct he displayed in 2015.

“Now, those who are urging him to contest in 2027 are either selfish or they want to squander the existing goodwill that he has. If he thinks that what he did in 2015 by accepting defeat is what will launch him into national stardom, seeking presidential election, he will be shocked that Nigeria has moved on. We have passed the era of former President Jonathan. There is nothing so spectacular about that government. That was the reason why he was defeated ab initio. If he had performed exceptionally against all permu­tations, he wouldn’t have lost that election”, Afegbua said.

Also on Sunday, the Obidient Movement denied reports that it begged Jonathan to support former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, instead of contesting against him in the 2027 presidential election.

The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, told Daily Inde­pendent that Jonathan should reciprocate the good gestures by Obi who stood by him when the opposition were trying to oust him from office in 2015.

“That is false. We never asked former President Jonathan to step down for Peter Obi. It was a wrong message by that reporter.

“What transpired was that they sought my reaction on the visit by Peter Obi to former Pres­ident Goodluck Jonathan. I said yes, they have a longstanding re­lationship. That even when Jona­than was about being removed by the likes of Rotimi Amaechi who said it publicly that they were the ones who worked hard to remove Jonathan from office, it was only Peter Obi who stood up for him. Obi stood by Jonathan then and he never worked with the oppo­sition to remove him from office.

“I said that now that Peter Obi is seeking to become the president of Nigeria, it is only reciprocal for Jonathan to support Peter Obi. I never used the word ‘beg’ or ‘step down’. So, we did not beg former President Jonathan to step down for Peter Obi. We only appealed to him to reciprocate Peter Obi’s good gestures as we head towards the 2027 presidential election”.