“Jonathan Cannot Return: We’re Still Cleaning His Mess,” Presidency Fires Back at Jerry Gana

The Presidency on Monday dismissed claims that Nigerians are clamouring for former President Goodluck Jonathan to return in 2027, saying the country is still struggling to recover from the economic wreckage left by his administration.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, described former Minister of Information Professor Jerry Gana’s statements as “absurd,” warning that Nigerians will not forget Jonathan’s “dismal” record in office.

“Professor Gana’s attempt to draft Jonathan into the 2027 race under the banner of the discredited PDP is both laughable and dangerous,” Onanuga said. “The party left the nation in economic ruins after 16 years of mismanagement, and we are still fixing that mess.”

Onanuga cited declining foreign reserves, a depleted Excess Crude Account, unpaid salaries across states, and widespread foreign exchange fraud as evidence of the Jonathan administration’s failures. He said the Tinubu-led government has reversed the downturn, stabilising the naira, boosting foreign reserves to $42.03 billion, and restoring investor confidence.

The presidential spokesman added that while Jonathan has the constitutional right to contest, Nigerians will “not allow those who broke the economy to return and run it down again.”

Gana, a PDP Board of Trustees member, had claimed Jonathan would contest the 2027 presidential election and that Nigerians were asking for his return, describing the former president as a “trusted leader with a track record of people-oriented governance.”