2023 Presidential election: Mixed reactions trail Jonathan’s eligibility
…Falana, Ananaba, Yusuf, Ogar, others disagree over former president’s fate
By Ariemu Ogaga and Uthman Salami
The hope for the emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan to run for the 2023 Presidential Election has divided legal practitioners as lawyers described held divergent views over legality of such ambition.
Supporters and followers alike have been touting the former President’s resurgence to take-over from President Muhammadu Buhari come 2023.
However, some lawyers have argued that chances of his emergence, noting very slim as Nigerian construction frowns against such ambition.
The Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Thursday said that former President Goodluck Jonathan cannot run for the 2023 presidential race.
In a statement, Falana said Jonathan cannot contest the 2023 presidential election by virtue of Section 137 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“It has been confirmed that former President Goodluck Jonathan has decided to join the All Progressives Congress, APC, to contest the 2023 presidential election,” the statement partly read.
“However, the former President is disqualified from contesting the said election by 137 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended which provides as follows: ‘A person who was sworn in to complete the term for which another person was elected as President shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term.
“Some people have said that the amendment is not retrospective and therefore cannot apply to Dr. Jonathan. Assuming without conceding that the amendment is not retrospective, it is submitted that under the current Constitution a President or Governor cannot spend more than 2 terms of 8 years. In other words, the Constitution will not allow anyone to be in office for more than a cumulative period of 8 years.
“It is not in dispute that Dr. Jonathan became the President of Nigeria in 2010 following the sudden death of President Umaru Yar’adua. He later contested and won the 2011 presidential election. Having spent 5 years in office as President, Dr. Jonathan is disqualified from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
“The reason is that if he wins the election, he will spend an additional term of 4 years. It means that he would spend a cumulative period of 9 years as President of Nigeria in utter breach of Section 137 of the Constitution which provides for a maximum two terms of 8 years.”
His comments followed speculations that the former president may defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Similarly, Professor Paul Ananaba (SAN) said Jonathan is not qualified to run for the office of the president because the constitution does not envisage that any Nigerian will be in office for more than eight years under any circumstance.
“If you add the four years – the two years under Yar’adua, and another four years – it will be more than eight years,” he said.
Similarly, Buhari Yusuf said Jonathan is ineligible under the law saying the combined reading of sections 137(1)(b) and 182(1)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, “Makes it practically impossible for someone who has taken the oath of office twice as president to come on the third one.”
However, Murtala Abdukareem (SAN) and Okonache Ogar Esq insisted that Jonathan is qualified to run for 2023 election.
Murtala Abdulkareem (SAN) said the decision of the court in the case of Ayuba Sabo and Ahmed Abubakar vs Ibrahim Gaidam over the Yobe State governorship election of 2015 has resolved the issue.
“He (Jonathan) can contest, but if he takes the oath in 2023, he will not be eligible to contest afterward,” he said.
Similarly, Okonache Ogar Esq said Jonathan is only ineligible to seek a fresh term after the forthcoming election not before as the constitution set out to correct the existence of a vacuum in the event of incapacity or death of the governor or president with the availability of the deputy governor or the vice president.
In the middle of this, Nigerian NewsDirect gathered that the Former President is yet to declare his intention to vie for the 2023 presidential race.
