Nwanyanwu Cautions Jonathan Against 2027 Comeback Bid

 

National Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dan Nwanyanwu, has urged former President Goodluck Jonathan to resist mounting pressure to join the 2027 presidential race, warning that those promoting his return are the same political actors who “betrayed him” in the past.

Nwanyanwu, who spoke yesterday on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said individuals currently pushing Jonathan’s name as a possible consensus candidate were motivated by self-interest rather than national good.

According to him, Jonathan, who served as president between 2011 and 2015 after completing the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, had repeatedly made it clear that he has no intention of contesting again—an insistence the ZLP chairman said the former president must uphold.

“I support Madam Patience,” Nwanyanwu said. “The same people calling him now are the same people who betrayed him before. Jonathan is an honest man with good policies. They used him then, and now they want to use him again to clean their mess.”

Nwanyanwu added that although he had not recently spoken with Jonathan, he intended to meet him soon. “Should he run? I think he should wait,” he said.

‘South deserves another four years’

The ZLP chairman also lamented the disregard for internal party rules across the political landscape, noting that constitutional provisions guiding power rotation were often ignored.

He argued that by the logic of zoning, the South still deserved four additional years in the presidency, though he stressed that making such comments publicly often led to accusations of his supporting President Bola Tinubu.

Military can end insecurity, says ZLP chair

On insecurity, Nwanyanwu expressed confidence in the capacity of Nigeria’s armed forces to defeat bandits and terrorists, describing the challenge as an “akamu case” for the military.

He cited Nigeria’s strong record in international peacekeeping operations as evidence that the armed forces remain capable of handling internal threats.

“There is no political will to give the right instructions,” he said. “The Nigerian Army has faced tougher battles outside Nigeria. Banditry and terrorism are not beyond their capacity.”