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The erstwhile southeast spokesperson of President Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has affirmed that erstwhile president Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally qualified to contention for Nigeria presidency successful the 2027 election.
Onoh’s remark followed President Tinubu’s Special Adviser connected Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga’s statement, connected Monday, wherever helium warned that Jonathan’s eligibility for the 2027 contention possibly a solution of the court.
But Onoh differed from Onanuga, reminding him that the substance has already been settled, resolved successful favour of Jonathan and cannot beryllium revisited again but for a chaotic pursuit ineligible excursion.
Onoh said it was up to Nigerians to determine who leads them and that the medication of President Bola Tinubu volition not infringe connected immoderate opponents close to contest.
Onoh, portion addressing journalists successful Yenegoa, Bayelsa state, connected Tuesday, aft obtaining the certified existent transcript of the judgment, said that Jonathan’s eligibility nether law word limits is already a settled ineligible precedent that was established done unchallenged judicial rulings that affirmed Jonathan’s qualification to contention aboriginal elections.
“Therefore, President Tinubu should not beryllium deceived by anyone telling him otherwise. This was precisely however Jonathan’s interior cabal during the physique up to 2015 elections deceived him into believing that helium was invisible, that Nigerians loved him, to the grade helium was excessively carried distant that helium felt invisible and ne'er saw Tinubu coming.
“Tinubu was the invisible magician that formed the spell that led to Jonathan’s nonaccomplishment astatine the polls. The President should not autumn successful the aforesaid trap by the voices that situation him now. The 1 large sincere dependable helium should perceive to is his wife, galore volition betray him successful the coming months,” Onoh.
Onoh further stated that a binding and unappealed Judgment successful May 2022, of the Federal High Court successful Yenagoa, Bayelsa State (Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022), delivered a definitive ruling successful a lawsuit brought by APC members, Andy Solomon and Ibidiye Abraham against Jonathan, the APC, and INEC.
In the judgment, Justice Isa H. Dashen held that Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally eligible to contention the presidency of Nigeria again.
The tribunal reasoned arsenic that Jonathan’s presumption of bureau connected May 6, 2010, pursuing the decease of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was not an predetermination nether Section 137(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), but a succession to implicit Yar’Adua’s unexpired term, invoking the doctrine of necessity and not counting toward the two-term bounds for elected mandates.
Onoh said that Jonathan was elected lone once, successful the 2011 statesmanlike election, served a afloat four-year word until 2015; which his 2015 bid was a morganatic reelection effort adjacent though helium defeated astatine the polls, but did not exhaust his law allowance.
“The 2018 law amendment (via the Fourth Alteration Act), which added Section 137(3) to barroom anyone sworn successful doubly from further contests, does not use retroactively to Jonathan. The amendment postdated his tenures (2010–2015). It cannot retroactively disqualify rights accrued nether the pre-amendment framework.”
Onoh stated that ex-post facto laws are impermissible successful Nigeria’s law democracy, a rule reinforced by precedents specified arsenic the Court of Appeal’s 2015 ruling successful Cyriacus Njoku v. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (2015) LPELR-24496(CA), which likewise excluded his 2010 oath from term-counting calculations.
Onoh asserted that the 2022 judgement was ne'er appealed by the plaintiffs oregon immoderate party, contempt the 90-days model nether the Constitution and applicable electoral laws. Over 3 years aboriginal (as of September 2025), the ruling stands arsenic last and binding nether the doctrine of res judicata—barring relitigation of the aforesaid issues betwixt the aforesaid parties.
“Hence I impulse Mr. President not to perceive to anyone who comes to rotation him with ineligible possibilities of Jonathan’s eligibility due to the fact that Nigerian jurisprudence, including Supreme Court decisions similar Marwa v. Nyako (2012) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1296) 200, upholds specified precedents to guarantee ineligible certainty and forestall endless challenges to settled rights.
With owed respect to Mr. Onanuga, his invocation of ...
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