We Cannot Give Goodluck Jonathan Ticket

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated its faction, Team New Nigeria, after flooding the Kano metropolis with the 2027 campaign posters of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Naija News reported that posters of Jonathan running for election in 2027 flooded Kano streets, on Thursday, sparking speculations about his possible return to the political space.

The posters, seen at strategic locations such as Gyadi-Gyadi/Zoo Road flyover, Kofar Nasarawa, and State Road, featured messages like “Team New Nigeria 2027; The Goodluck Nigeria Needs — Dr Goodluck Jonathan.”

TNN also constituted a harmonisation committee in Kano State and was on the verge of registering as a political party with the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The group claimed to have mobilised 26,382,000 registered voters across Nigeria and has developed essential party structures, including a flag, logo, constitution, and manifesto.

In an interview with PUNCH, Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, stated that  Jonathan cannot be given the ticket because he is not a card-carrying member.

Duru stated that the printing and promotion of Jonathan’s campaign was a further validation the TNN was never from the fold of the APC.

He recalled a similar circumstances when numerous supporters procured nomination forms for Jonathan on the APC platform for the 2023 elections, a move he claimed to be unaware of.

Duru said, “I will not venture into any conjecture. It is a group I consider to be amorphous that is not known to the APC. If they were genuine members of the APC, it would have been clear to them that former President Goodluck Jonathan was not a member of the party.

“Even when a group purchased a form for him within the APC in the last election, they were immediately discountenanced and Jonathan was not given the ticket. Until he is a card-carrying member of the APC, it is only then we can give him that recognition.

“But following or having an understanding with a non-member of the APC again validates the position that these (splinter group) are not members of our party. If they are members of the party and want to form a different initiative within the APC, they are more than welcome. It is the beauty of democracy.

“In so far as this has not been done and they are now working within the ambit of the APC, they cannot be considered to be members or have any link whatsoever with the APC.”