Former President Goodluck Jonathan says he was not carried along by Fulani herders who announced on Monday, May 9, that the N100 million nomination and expression of interest forms of the APC have been procured for him.
Jonathan also adds that he has no links to the group of nomads and considers it all an insult.
There have been persisting rumours that Jonathan intends to join the 2023 crowded presidential field, amid an ongoing debate that he is constitutionally barred from doing so.
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In a late night statement by his spokesperson Ikechukwu Eze, the former president said he didn’t authorise the purchase of the forms.
“It has come to our notice that a group has purportedly purchased Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest forms of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the name of former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,” the statement reads.
“We wish to categorically state that Dr. Jonathan was not aware of this bid and did not authorise it.
“We want to state that if the former President wanted to contest an election, he would make his intentions clear to the public and will not enter through the back door.
“While we appreciate the overwhelming request by a cross-section of Nigerians for Dr. Jonathan to make himself available for the 2023 presidential election, we wish to state that he has not, in anyway, committed himself to this request.
“Buying a presidential aspiration form in the name of Dr. Jonathan without his consent, knowing the position he had held in this country, is considered an insult to his person. The general public is therefore advised to disregard it.”
Jonathan, 64, governed Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost his re-election battle to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in 2015.
In recent times, rumours have been rife that Jonathan intends to switch camps from the PDP to the governing APC. He has neither confirmed nor debunked those rumours.
