Former President Goodluck Jonathan is moving forward with plans to contest the 2027 presidential election, despite public opposition from his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, and growing resistance within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
At an event in Abuja in May 2025, where she was honoured with the Women Icon Leader of the Year Award, Patience Jonathan openly rejected her husband’s return bid. She had said:
“The distress of Nigeria is so much that if God manages to bring you out of it, you should glorify Him. Why do you want to go back there? I need peace. My peace is enough.”
The former first lady went further, pledging support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration and vowing to campaign for his re-election in 2027.
Despite her position, insiders revealed that Jonathan has stepped up consultations, holding closed-door meetings abroad with allies to strengthen his influence within the PDP. A major concern for his camp has been how to manage the opposition of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the FCT, who has repeatedly cautioned Jonathan against running. Wike reportedly warned that those urging Jonathan to return are the same figures who betrayed him in 2015.
According to a PDP source:
“Wike’s opposition cannot be taken lightly, and that is why some of our meetings have been about how to ensure he does not become a stumbling block.”
Jonathan is said to be relying heavily on Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to consolidate party structures in his favour and counter any internal resistance. His team also moved swiftly to persuade Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri not to defect to the APC, a move that would have weakened Jonathan’s South-South support base.
Allies close to the former president brushed aside concerns about Patience Jonathan’s resistance, recalling that she also opposed his selection as running mate to late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007 but could not stop his eventual rise to the presidency.
Meanwhile, Jonathan’s camp has been distributing a court judgment affirming his constitutional eligibility to contest again, countering critics who argue that his previous two swearing-ins bar him from another run.
