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2023 Presidency: APC Targets Former President Jonathan
By Eric Elezuo
Everything being equal, the immediate past President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, will be presenting himself again in 2023 for the highest office, which he vacated in 2015, after losing to the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari, in a keenly contested election, marred by random victimisation and character assassination.
However, the former President may have to ditch his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and decamp to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to actualise this dream, according to findings by The Boss.
In the last couple of weeks, the media have been inundated with reports of the fact that the APC are wooing the former President to join their party, and run on its platform for the 2023 Presidential Election, to clinch the Presidency. Though Jonathan has continually maintained that he remained a PDP member, the plot of the APC to get him to their camp has remained alive.
Stakeholders and political observers, who spoke to The Boss on the condition of anonymity, said the plans of the APC, and by extension the North to lure Jonathan back to the Presidency is real, adding however, that the intentions are selfishly connected.
In their separate analyses, they maintained that the plans of the North is to pair Jonathan with the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, as the Vice President. In so doing, the possibility of a northerner continuing after Jonathan will be secured.
Speaking, one of the sources said: “The North is not comfortable with staying out of presidential power for a whole eight years, and therefore, needs a decoy to hold forth for them for four years before they bounce back again.
“It’s obvious that Jonathan will not serve beyond four years or one term, having completed a first term in office before being ousted in 2015. This permutation is behind the North’s consistent wooing of the PDP stalwart, and they believe that Jonathan may not have the willpower to reject the offer, considering the trappings that come with being the number one citizen of Nigeria. More so, with el-Rufai as his deputy, there’s the possibility that he could be well checkmated while he runs his four years course as president.”
APC’s plans are made manifest by the announcement on Sunday by a chieftain of the party, Senator Abubakar Geiri, that the party has zoned the 2023 Presidency to the South-South; ostensibly to give Jonathan a leeway to make his decamping moves. Jonathan is from Bayelsa State, South-South, Nigeria.
Geiri, who is the Chairman of APC Registration and Revalidation Panel for Akwa Ibom State, made this known during the kick-off of the registration and revalidation exercise in Uyo, the state capital.
The party chieftain was quoted as saying that President Buhari and the Caretaker Chairman of the party, who is also the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, are in the know of the decision.
He said: “In 2023, the presidency is coming back to the South. I am not saying this by myself. I have the authority of Mr President, I have the authority of the national chairman of the party, to tell you that the Presidency is coming back to the South. So, with this, the ball is now in your court.
“I am sure that very soon all of these mushroom parties would also copy us, and say their presidency would also come to the South. So, you can see that if you don’t come out en masse to register for APC, our candidate may still not win. So, come out and register, and vote for APC in all the elections that are coming.”
In the meantime, political observers are wondering why and how Jonathan will fall for the bait of defecting to the APC, a party that is unanimously believed to have damaged not only the country in all ramifications, but also his own reputation as an administrator and a person. Many have wondered what they would tell Nigerians during the campaigns. It would be another case of the Edo 2020 Election, where it was practically impossible selling Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu after he was thoroughly de-marketed in 2016 by the same party. A common denominator in the permutations is that Jonathan will not agree to such terms. Obviously, not with how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and security apparatuses have treated his wife, Patience Jonathan, in the days succeeding the loss of the 2015 election, among other issues.
Again, observers have also said that the possibility is rife, adding that the Aso Rock Villa, the seat of power, has in recent times been a second home for Goodluck Jonathan, as the former President has remained a regular visitor to the Villa in his capacity as the ECOWAS Special Envoy on Mali Crisis.
“Do you think it is only Mali they discuss whenever he is in the Villa,” a source asked rhetorically.
It would be recalled as well that in the past days, a former Minister of Aviation and PDP chieftain, Femi Fani-kayode, has been seen frolicking with the APC, in what many people termed the final steps to becoming a member of the APC.
A source told The Boss that Fani-kayode is another trump card the APC and the North are playing to get Jonathan into the party and fulfill their political arrangement. It is believed that Fani-kayode, a known loyalist of Jonathan, can convince the former President to dance to the tune of the APC. His visits to the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, and APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, seem to lend credence to the fact. And so, Bello was confident to publicly announce that Fani-kayode has finally joined the APC. Though he denied joining the APC, observers say there’s no smoke without fire.
As the APC continually cast their dragnet towards Jonathan and the South-South, it is difficult to say what will become of the Igbo, who majority of Nigerians believe should have a shot at the presidency, and of course the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, whose supporters are already rolling out the drums in readiness for the coveted presidential seat.
Whatever happens as the bells of 2023 chime, everyone agrees that it will surely be a paradigm shift.
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for an independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigation into the academic and professional credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), beginning with President Bola Tinubu himself.
Atiku’s call comes in the wake of the recent resignation of the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, over an alleged certificate scandal.
Following the controversy surrounding the authenticity of his academic qualifications, Nnaji tendered his resignation on Tuesday. He, however, maintains that his resignation is not an admission of guilt.
Reacting to the development in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, Atiku said the resignation of the former minister has “once again brought to light the deep moral crisis at the heart of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.”
The former Vice President also questioned Tinubu’s own credentials, alleging that they have been the subject of controversy for decades. He, therefore, called for a thorough investigation into the credentials of all FEC members, starting with the President.
“This episode is not isolated. It is a reflection of a pattern — a rot that begins from the very top. The man who occupies the office of President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has for decades been enmeshed in controversies surrounding his identity, age, and academic records.
“From the Chicago State University saga to multiple contradictory claims under oath, the world has seen ample evidence that Nigeria today is led by a man who himself has been unable to credibly defend the authenticity of his own certificates.
“When a man of questionable identity leads a country, deception becomes the standard of governance. Tinubu’s personal history of alleged forgery and perjury has effectively institutionalized falsehood in public service.
“It is, therefore, unsurprising that his ministers and aides have taken after his example — falsifying documents, inflating records, and desecrating the moral foundation of our nation.
“I, therefore, call for an independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigation into the academic and professional credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council, beginning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself. Nigerians deserve to know the truth about those who preside over their lives and resources.
“Tuesday’s resignation of Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, has once again brought to light the deep moral crisis at the heart of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
“What should ordinarily be a matter of national shame is now being disguised as a ‘voluntary resignation’ — an attempt to whitewash yet another scandal that typifies the forgery-ridden character of this government,” Atiku said.
He condemned President Tinubu’s decision to allow Nnaji an honourable resignation rather than a dismissal.
“Let the truth be told: Uche Nnaji should not have been allowed the courtesy of resignation. He should have been summarily dismissed and prosecuted for deceit and falsification.
“By permitting him to quietly exit through the back door, the Tinubu administration has once again demonstrated that it is an assembly of forgers, impostors, and morally bankrupt individuals masquerading as public servants.”
Atiku also berated the Department of State Services (DSS), questioning how Nnaji’s alleged certificate scandal escaped detection during the screening process prior to his appointment.
“What makes this even more embarrassing is that the same Department of State Services (DSS), which screened out Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for alleged ‘security concerns’, is the very agency that cleared this same character, Uche Nnaji.
“The DSS truly deserves our flowers for this national disgrace. Their failure of due diligence has made Nigeria an object of ridicule before the world and raises the question: how many more such individuals are occupying sensitive positions in this government?”
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, accepted Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s departure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the expiration of his second term in office.
Yakubu was first appointed in November 2015 as the 14th chairman of the commission for an initial term of five years.
The appointment, which was renewed in 2020, has now expired due to the passage of time.
President Tinubu thanked Professor Yakubu for his services to the nation and his efforts to sustain Nigeria’s democracy, particularly through the organisation of free and fair elections throughout his two-term tenure.
In recognition of Yakubu’s dedicated service to the nation, President Tinubu has bestowed on him the honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
President Tinubu also directed that Professor Yakubu should hand over to the most senior national commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will direct the affairs of the Commission until the completion of the process to appoint a successor.
In the letter dated October 3, 2025, Professor Yakubu thanked the President for the opportunity to serve the nation as chairman of the commission since 2015.
The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, has resigned his position following allegations of certificate forgery levelled against him.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the resignation in a statement on Tuesday, saying the President has accepted the Minister’s decision to step down.
He added that “President Tinubu appointed Nnaji in August 2023. He resigned today in a letter thanking the President for allowing him to serve Nigeria.”
Onanuga further quoted the former Minister as saying he had “been a target of blackmail by political opponents.”
“President Tinubu thanked him for his service and wished him well in future endeavours,” the statement added.
