Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has cautioned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against fielding former President Goodluck Jonathan or ex-Anambra Governor Peter Obi as its presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.
According to Keyamo, nominating Jonathan poses a constitutional risk tied to Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which could bar anyone sworn in twice as president from contesting again.
Keyamo also warned that if Dr. Jonathan is fielded, the party runs the risk of not having a candidate at all due to potential disqualification.
The minister described the PDP’s position as “non-enviable” after failing to zone its 2023 ticket to the South, leading to losses in traditional strongholds in the South-South and South-East.
Keyamo also stated on Sunday that the opposition risks serious consequences in the upcoming election if it relies on former Anambra governor Peter Obi as its candidate.
He further said that the PDP remained in a “non-enviable position” after failing to zone its 2023 ticket to the South, a decision he said cost the PDP support in its traditional strongholds in the South-South and South-East.
Keyamo said nominating Jonathan carries a constitutional danger tied to section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which he suggested could bar anyone sworn in twice as president from contesting again.
“If he is fielded, the Party runs the risk of not having a candidate at all,” Keyamo said.
He cautioned that such a legal challenge would ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court.
His words:
“The constitutional amendment was made after the court judgment which cleared him (Jonathan) to run in 2015, so nothing is decided yet on that new amendment, hence I use the word ‘Risk’ advisedly.
”All the arguments as to whether the section can be interpreted to affect him will not be decided on Social Media, but at the Supreme Court.
“If he is barred from running AFTER nominations have closed and the PDP is declared as having no candidate, nobody should scream ‘judiciary is corrupt’ because such a large party saw the judicial danger ahead and deliberately ignored it”, he added.
He further said that the party would bear responsibility if it ignored the legal risk and lost its candidacy after nominations closed.
He said, ”Let me poke my nose a bit today: the position of PDP is not an enviable one at all.
”In 2023, PDP lacked the balls to deliberately zone its Presidential ticket to the South, so it woefully lost its decades-long stranglehold on the S/South and S/East, the two of it”., he further added
Meanwhile, the PDP has rejected Keyamo’s warning, with the party’s youth leader, Timothy Osadolor, stating that Keyamo has no authority to dictate the party’s candidate.
Osadolor described Keyamo’s comments as “self-serving” and “unbecoming of a public servant”.
Despite Keyamo’s warning, the PDP is reportedly considering both Jonathan and Obi as potential presidential candidates for the 2027 election.
