In a landmark ruling, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital has cleared the former President Goodluck Jonathan as being eligible to run for the 2023 Presidential contest.
The development is coming hours to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential primary elections scheduled for Saturday in Abuja.
Recall that the former President was recently linked with the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential race following the reported purchase of ₦100 million form on his behalf by a Fulani group.
However, there have been different positions on his eligibility for the 2023 presidential election.
But on Friday, the court held that Jonathan, who lost the 2015 election to President Muhammadu Buhari, could still vie for the highest political office in the country.
Read Also: 2023: Ongoing APC, PDP Primaries A Mess – Jonathan
The presiding judge, Justice Isa Hamma Dashen, who gave the judgement on Friday, also held that Jonathan’s right to contest for the office of president in 2023 cannot be stopped by any retroactive law.
In an originating summons filed by Andy Solomon and Idibiye Abraham, the plaintiffs sought an order of the court stating that Jonathan is not affected by the fourth alteration to the constitution barring Vice-Presidents who succeed their principals from serving more than one full term.
APC, Jonathan and the Independent National Electoral Commission are listed as defendants in the suit marked FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022 which is before Justice Isa Dashen.
Goodluck Jonathan has also recommended removal of the controversial Section 84 of the new Electoral Act, to allow political parties decide modalities for candidates’ elections.
Jonathan gave the recommendation at the public presentation of a book titled “Political Party Governance” by former Minister of State Power, Dr Mohammed Wakil, on Thursday in Abuja.
The former president said that the National Assembly should allow political parties have the leverage of doing certain things differently, as their needs were different.
“Give parties the leverage. The key thing is that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is regulating them.
“They mentor them, and the system they will adopt in selecting their candidates must be documented in their constitution and copies deposited with INEC. That is what will be used to judge that party.
“Parties are not parastatals of government and the National Assembly cannot make laws that choke the political parties. That is my take on this controversial issue,” he said.
Jonathan also rated as low, the ongoing primaries by political parties to elect candidates for the 2023 General Elections because of provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.
He said that the primary where only elected delegates were allowed to elect candidates, was already a failed process.
“The National Assembly made alterations to the Electoral Law, and now only what they call the `elected delegates’ are to elect people that would vote. Then one day Nigerians will go to the polls and think they are voting a president?.
“But who presented presidential candidates for you? Very few people at the national level, at the state level, at the local districts, at the federal and state constituencies.”
Jonathan cited a Federal Constituency in Bayelsa State with only two wards and just only six delegates that elected PDP candidates because every ward had three elected delegates.
