Former President Jonathan Under Pressure to Drop 2027 Presidential Ambition

By David Odama

Former President Goodluck Jonathan is reportedly under increasing pressure to abandon his speculated 2027 presidential ambition and instead support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

According to reliable sources, several influential figures from the Niger Delta, including former militant leader Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, are leading the effort to convince the former president.

It was gathered that some of Jonathan’s close associates and kinsmen have urged him to shelve any plans of returning to power, insisting that backing Tinubu’s second-term bid would be more beneficial to the region’s political interests.

Tompolo was said to have visited Jonathan at his Otuoke residence in Bayelsa State on October 16, alongside Chief Kestin Pondi, Managing Director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, and Mr. Joshua Maciver, the APC’s Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2023 Bayelsa election, among others.

Sources familiar with the meeting disclosed that it was largely political, focusing on persuading Jonathan to step aside from any 2027 ambition. Tompolo reportedly told the former president that the prevailing sentiment in the Niger Delta does not favour his return to the presidency.

As the leader of the PBAT Door-2-Door Movement, a grassroots campaign group advocating Tinubu’s re-election, Tompolo was said to have informed Jonathan that most Niger Deltans prefer continuity under Tinubu and warned that the former president might not receive the expected “home support” if he chose to contest.

An insider revealed, “Tompolo’s visit to His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in Otuoke on October 16 was a warm reunion after more than a decade. Although there were speculations that the meeting was about peace and security in the region, it was purely political. Tompolo appealed to Jonathan to reconsider any plans for 2027, cautioning him not to be misled into thinking he could unseat President Tinubu.”

The source added that Tompolo emphasized the prevailing mood across the Niger Delta and much of the country, which he said strongly supports Tinubu’s re-election.

Another source noted that Jonathan listened attentively and agreed to reflect on the advice before making his decision public.

However, while speaking with journalists after the meeting, Jonathan explained that Tompolo’s visit was primarily to review the peace situation in the Niger Delta, without confirming or denying whether 2027 politics formed part of their discussion.