By Elizabeth Godwin
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has cautioned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against fielding either former President Goodluck Jonathan or former Anambra State governor Peter Obi as its presidential candidate in 2027.
Speaking on Sunday, Keyamo argued that the opposition party faces “serious risks” if it presents either of the two men as its standard-bearer. He noted that the PDP’s failure to zone its presidential ticket to the South in 2023 significantly weakened its influence in the South-South and South-East—traditional strongholds of the party.
Keyamo further warned that nominating Jonathan could trigger constitutional challenges under Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The section bars any individual who has been sworn in twice as president from contesting again. Jonathan was first sworn in after the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 and again in 2011 after winning the election.
“If he is fielded, the Party runs the risk of not having a candidate at all,” Keyamo stated, stressing that such a scenario could only be settled by the Supreme Court. He explained that although Jonathan was cleared to run in 2015 before the constitutional amendment, the situation has since changed and remains open to legal interpretation.
“The constitutional amendment was made after the court judgment which cleared him to run in 2015, so nothing is decided yet on that new amendment. All the arguments as to whether the section can be interpreted to affect him will not be decided on social media, but at the Supreme Court,” Keyamo said.
According to him, if Jonathan were barred from running after the close of nominations, the PDP would be left without a candidate. He cautioned that the party must accept full responsibility should such an outcome occur. “If he is barred from running after nominations have closed and the PDP is declared as having no candidate, nobody should scream ‘judiciary is corrupt’ because such a large party saw the judicial danger ahead and deliberately ignored it,” he added.
Turning to Obi, Keyamo argued that the former governor does not offer the PDP a viable path to victory. He insisted that the party’s indecision and internal missteps have left it in a “non-enviable position” ahead of 2027.
