Before the recent push to draft former President Goodluck Jonathan into the 2027 presidential race, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, was also being considered. Like Jonathan, Obi neither confirmed nor denied the rumors surrounding his potential bid. However, he publicly pledged to serve only one term if given the opportunity.
Despite Obi’s promise, party insiders told Sunday Sun that his one-term commitment failed to sway many power brokers within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). A senior party source explained, “You know we are all politicians. Even when we don’t trust each other and hardly learn from our mistakes, we have people who constantly remind us of our past. Power is sweet, no one will give it up easily unless there is a constitutional encumbrance that would stop such a person even when he wants to continue.”
The source also recalled Jonathan’s pre-2011 pledge, stating, “I was part of those who followed His Excellency, former President Jonathan, to some of the engagements in the north ahead of the 2011 presidential election. What we told our people then was that he was going to do one term only. Apart from that, our Baba (Obasanjo) at the Eagle Square, after Jonathan emerged as our presidential candidate, announced that he was going to do just one term. Didn’t Jonathan seek a second term before he was defeated?”
The source continued, “So that is why, for me, Obi’s promise is not attractive, and I want to believe I am not alone on this.”
According to the insider, Jonathan’s appeal stems from the constitutional limit on his tenure should he win in 2027. “Jonathan is preferred because by law, if he wins, he cannot go beyond 2031. And so after him, we will have the power back in the north,” the source added.
As the race for the 2027 presidency heats up, Jonathan’s potential candidacy seems to be gaining momentum, with many in the PDP viewing him as a more viable option compared to Obi, whose one-term offer has failed to win over the party’s influential figures.
