The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that former President Goodluck Jonathan will be unable to defeat incumbent President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
The party questioned Jonathan’s political relevance in unseating Tinubu.
Jonathan, who lost his reelection campaign in 2025 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, is being pushed by supporters to run again in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Friday, APC spokesman Seye Oladejo stated, “While we acknowledge the former president’s role in the peaceful democratic transition of 2015, an act that rightly earned him praise at home and abroad, we must state, in clear terms, that Nigeria has since moved beyond the politics of sentiment, nostalgia, and symbolism. The challenges of today and the future require bold, capable, and forward-thinking leadership, not a return to the comfort of a past that was far from perfect. Let it be clear: Good luck alone is not a governance strategy.”
Oladejo claimed that the Jonathan government, which ran from 2010 to 2015, left behind a country plagued by grave structural flaws ranging from unfettered corruption to worrisome insecurity and economic stagnation.
He added, “While some may look back on those years with rose-tinted glasses, we must remind ourselves that nostalgia is not a policy platform. Emotion cannot drive economic reform, and sentimentality will not fix power generation, insecurity, youth unemployment, or education sector decay. Having completed more than one term in office, any return bid will inevitably trigger legal contention and political instability distractions Nigeria cannot afford in a time when decisive action is needed across all sectors of national life.
“Moreover, the former president’s political relevance has been complicated by his recent engagements across party lines. His flirtation with the APC and absence from PDP’s strategic rebuilding efforts raise questions about his loyalty, clarity of vision, and political intentions. We believe the future of Nigeria does not lie in recycled leadership but in visionary governance rooted in integrity, innovation, and resilience.
“Former President Jonathan remains a respected elder statesman. His legacy as a peaceful democrat is assured. But legacies are not manifestos, and nostalgia is not governance.”
He called on “Nigerians to reject emotional shortcuts and stay focused on the need for capable, accountable and transformative leadership. As 2027 approaches, let us not reach backwards in desperation, but move forward with courage and clarity,” Oladejo said.
