The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has urged former President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately reject his nomination as the 2027 presidential candidate by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Reacting to the news on social media platform X, Keyamo described the development as a “bizarre comedy taken too far” by political actors who are dragging a revered statesman into an illegitimate exercise.
The minister warned that accepting the nomination from a faction not officially recognised on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) website would damage Jonathan’s global image.
“For the sake of his global image, President Goodluck Jonathan must IMMEDIATELY issue a strong ‘no, thank you’ statement, lest Nigerians begin to recall the ‘clueless’ campaign that got him out of power,” Keyamo stated.
The minister’s warning follows the ratification of Jonathan as the sole 2027 presidential candidate by the Kabiru Turaki-led PDP faction on Saturday.
The nomination ceremony was swiftly executed in under 20 minutes at a substituted venue in Abuja after security operatives blocked access to the original site.
Fred Agbedi, a close ally of the former president, accepted the certificate of return on Jonathan’s behalf in the presence of prominent party chieftains, including Prof. Jerry Gana and Adolphus Wabara.
The event took place amid an order from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who had directed Abuja facility owners to only host political leadership groups officially recognised by INEC.
Security forces had sealed the initial venue, the A-Class Event Centre in Wuse 2, on Friday night under the guise of maintaining public peace.
While Wike’s faction holds current INEC recognition, the rival camp—backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde—moved forward with Jonathan’s endorsement, maintaining their legitimacy by citing a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding the suspension of leaders within Wike’s camp.
