Former presidential aspirant of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Mathias Tsado, has called on close associates of Former President Goodluck Jonathan to persuade him to contest the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Jonathan possesses the qualities needed to reposition Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Tsado said while Jonathan has not declared interest in returning to the presidential race, he personally prays for the day the former Bayelsa governor will announce his candidacy.
“Yes, he has not declared that he wants to run for election, but for somebody like me, I am praying for the day President Goodluck Jonathan will declare and say, ‘I want to run.’
Those who have access to him should speak to him. They should remind him of the rumors in 2023 about his possible return. This time, they should tell him: ‘Please come around, sir, because Nigerians need you today,’” Tsado said.
Jonathan, who assumed office in May 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was elected in 2011 before losing his re-election bid to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 — marking the first time an incumbent president was defeated since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
Despite the loss, Tsado argued that Jonathan left a lasting legacy by conceding defeat gracefully, demonstrating that he was not desperate for power.
“He showed that his ambition was never worth the blood of any Nigerian. Someone said recently that Jonathan lost the election in 2015 but gained the people. At the moment, I believe that is what is working for him,” Tsado noted.
He further argued that Jonathan’s current status places him above partisan politics and in a position of moral authority that many politicians aspire to.
“The position that former President Goodluck Jonathan finds himself in today is one that most politicians are yearning for,” he added.
