“Defeating him will be a walkover” – APC reacts to calls for Jonathan to contest in 2027

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the rumoured pressure on former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for the presidency in 2027.

The National Director of Publicity for the party, Bala Ibrahim, warned that should Jonathan accept to run against President Bola Tinubu on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the next election, he would taste the bitter pill of defeat again.

He said, “For us to start talking about 2027 is not only premature, but a calculation that is doomed. Less than 40 per cent of the mandate given to the President under the APC has not even been consumed.

“There is just no way the APC as a party will be jittery, if at all, there is such a plan to enrol former President Goodluck Jonathan into the race.

 

“The APC defeated him when he was in power. Defeating him when he’s out of power will be a walkover. It is something that cannot even give the party a sleepless night.

So, whoever is making this permutation, if the intention is to scare the APC as a party, I think he needs to go back to the drawing board and think again. We are not worried.

“As I said, let’s get to the river before we start thinking of crossing it. It is too early to start talking about 2027. But if you bring 10 former President Jonathan, they cannot defeat the APC as of today.”

When told that a larger section of political analysts believe the APC defeated Jonathan only because of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s cult-like followership across the country in 2015, Ibrahim laughed.

The APC spokesman insisted that it is on record that Tinubu was the party’s leader when Buhari shocked the Otuoke politician.

He also expressed optimism that history will repeat itself if Jonathan accepts the PDP offer to contest against Tinubu.

“The truth is that the APC defeated Goodluck Jonathan when the President (Tinubu) was the leader of the party.

The APC will defeat him again now that Tinubu is the President and the leader of the party. It is not Buhari’s cult followership that matters. It is the party arrangement. Buhari did not contest on an independent candidature status.

“Forget about the shenanigans that are on display now. When it’s time for election, the party will readily package its candidate and match them for the consumption of the people. And I assure you that the people will buy it. But it is too early to start discussing this. But you know politicians for who they are.

“They always want to heat up the politics so that they keep seeing things as relevant. But in a four-year term, the president has just done slightly above one year and you are already thinking of somebody to bring in. No problem, democracy permits people to test the waters. But we will do things when it is time for them to be done,” he told Punch.