Goodluck Jonathan is still very much eligible to contest the presidential election as the law stands today. A little research would have saved this level of public folly, but again, that is not surprising.
Nigeria’s Constitution is very clear on this: a person is disqualified only if they have been elected President twice – Section 137(1)(b).
Jonathan was sworn in in 2010 following the death of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, but that was not through an election; it was a constitutional succession.
His only election victory came in 2011, which means he has been elected just once. That alone already gives him a strong legal footing.
In 2018, yes, the Constitution was amended to reflect that any person who has been sworn in to complete the term of another President can only be elected once more.
But what many either don’t understand or deliberately ignore is that Nigerian law does not operate retroactively. It takes effect from the point of implementation, not backwards.
By the time that amendment came into force, Jonathan had already completed Yar’Adua’s term and had already been elected and served his own term. This means his political status had been fully established before that provision even existed.
This is beyond theory or opinion.
The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa ruled in 2022 that the 2018 amendment does not apply to Jonathan and that he is not disqualified from contesting.
That judgment remains valid and binding until it is overturned by a higher court.
So when people come out to say he is not qualified, that is their own mirrored narrative, and at best a contested interpretation.
Nigerians should not be misled by confident but shallow journalists’ claims.
The Constitution has not slammed the door on Jonathan. The courts have already leaned in his favour once, and until a superior court says otherwise, he remains legally in the race if he chooses to be.
