The presidency has warned former President, Goodluck Jonathan, against individuals within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who are reportedly encouraging him to contest the 2027 election on the party’s platform.

Naijaonpoint reports that the former Minister of Information and Orientation, Jerry Gana, has declared that Jonathan will contest the 2027 presidential election on the PDP platform.

However, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Monday, said President Bola Tinubu would welcome Jonathan into the race, but stressed that the former leader would be judged both in the courts and in the eyes of Nigerians.

Onanuga accused opposition politicians of luring Jonathan to join the 2027 race for their personal, political, religious, and ethnic interests.

He said, “Former President Jonathan is welcome to the race. Nigerians will remember his dismal record in office.

“Jonathan will have his date in the court of the land. Indeed, the jury will determine whether Jonathan, who was sworn in twice as president, satisfies the constitutional requirements and is eligible to contest the presidency and be sworn in, if successful, for a third term in office.

“They merely want to lure him into the race to satisfy their personal, political, religious, and ethnic interests. They will abandon him midstream and leave Gentleman Jonathan in the lurch.”

Onanuga also criticised Gana’s attempt to draft Jonathan, describing it as absurd.

He said, “Prof. Gana of the defunct MAMSER fame is free to delude himself and engage in his usual comedy; after all, Jonathan’s entering the race would provide another job for the Niger State-born former university don.”

The Presidential aide further accused opposition figures of prematurely heating the political space, stressing that, “As we begin the march towards the 2027 elections, we are once again regaled with a cacophony of voices, most of them full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Onanuga recalled that Jonathan inherited $66 billion in reserves and savings in 2010, but left office in 2015 with “foreign reserves below $30 billion and the Excess Crude Account depleted to $2 billion, despite record oil revenues.”

He added, “By December 2014, the Jonathan-led Federal Government could no longer pay salaries. At least 28 states owed workers huge arrears.

“In slightly over two years, the Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23%, the highest in four years. Inflation decreased to 20.12% in August 2025, the lowest in three years. Foreign reserves stand presently at $42.03 billion. The Naira has virtually stabilised. Investor confidence in our economy has been restored, and investors are betting on Nigeria.

“The PDP and Jerry Gana’s co-travellers broke the economy; President Tinubu is fixing it.”