The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has urged former President Goodluck Jonathan to openly decline the 2027 presidential nomination recently announced by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Keyamo argued that the group responsible for naming Jonathan as its presidential candidate lacks official recognition from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The controversy followed the decision of a PDP faction led by Tanimu Turaki to present Jonathan as its candidate for the 2027 presidential election. The move came shortly after another faction of the party, reportedly aligned with supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, unveiled Senator Sandy Onor as its presidential flagbearer.
Responding to the development on X on Sunday, Keyamo criticised the nomination and those behind it, describing the situation as an embarrassing spectacle.
“This is some kind of bizarre comedy taken too far by supposedly grown adults and some names that were actually in the corridors of power at some point in this country,” he wrote.
Questioning the credibility of the process, the minister noted that the faction involved was not among the political parties or recognised groups listed by INEC.
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Giving a whole Presidential ticket to an ex-President and statesman by proxy and by a bunch of people not even registered on INEC’s website.
“And they don’t give a hoot, dragging such a revered figure into their charade that is certainly a journey to nowhere. Quite sad,” he stated.
Keyamo further appealed to Jonathan to publicly distance himself from the nomination, saying doing so would help preserve the former president’s reputation and international standing.
“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 — first sitting President to be so ousted,” he added.
As of the time of filing this report, Jonathan had not responded publicly to the nomination announced by the Turaki-led PDP faction.