Youths under the aegis of the Coalition for Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday stormed the Abuja residence of former President Goodluck Jonathan, urging him to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The event, held at Taraba Close in the Maitama District of the Federal Capital Territory, blocked traffic as demonstrators yelled slogans, danced, and brandished placards urging Jonathan to return to active politics.
Some of the signs said, “GEJ: Nigeria is dying, save it!” “GEJ, Nigerian youths break the medicine that they do you,” as well as “GEJ, if you don’t run, we quench.”
The coalition’s National President, Tom Ohikere, who led the march, stated that the group conducted nationwide discussions prior to conducting the event.
He said, “Everywhere that we have visited in the course of our nationwide consultation over a period of six months, the clamor for his return to power to rescue our country has been loud and unmistakable.”
Ohikere hailed Jonathan as a unifying figure capable of tackling Nigeria’s present political and economic difficulties and stated that the group would maintain pressure until the former president responded.
“We will keep coming until we get a positive response,” he said.
The demonstrators, who waited for more than three hours, were unable to see Jonathan since he was supposedly not present.
He was reported to have arrived at the residence at 1 p.m., after the group had dispersed.
Wednesday’s gathering adds to a rising chorus of calls from political parties and diaspora organizations for Jonathan to return to partisan politics ahead of the 2027 elections.
The development is comparable to one that occurred in 2022, when groups around the country sought support for the former president ahead of the 2023 general elections.
A group of northern youths and political actors went so far as to buy Jonathan’s presidential nomination and expression of interest forms from the All Progressives Congress, despite his membership in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
The action provoked extensive controversy about its legality and political ramifications, especially given that Jonathan had already served a full term and completed his predecessor’s tenure, creating concerns about his constitutional eligibility.
Jonathan, on the other hand, declined to run for office, remaining silent for several weeks until withdrawing from the campaign.
Although the former president has not openly shown an interest in the 2027 contest, there have been repeated calls for his return to politics.
Jonathan, who served as president from 2010 to 2015, has primarily remained a statesman since leaving office, focused on diplomacy and election observation missions throughout Africa.
