Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has described former President Goodluck Jonathan as an attractive candidate.
This is even as he suggested that the former President might stand in for the forthcoming presidential election in 2027.
Muhammad-Baba claimed that Jonathan, over time, and especially since 2015, has accumulated a number of positives.
He stated this on Thursday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme.
The statement comes amid indications are emerging that Jonathan is ready to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The Bayelsa politician is said to be getting set to battle President Bola Tinubu for the nation’s number one job.
There has been speculation about whether Jonathan will fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
However, speaking about the matter, Muhammad-Baba said
He said: “I don’t know whether he is attractive or he is not. I think this is permutations and campaign being pushed by politicians. I don’t know if Goodluck Jonathan will be attractive to anybody, except if he comes out and says exactly what they have for the country, and will wait for the voters to see if that is true.
“But so far, I think everybody, most people, are just speculating on whether which, or which part of Nigeria will support which candidate or not.
“Well, Goodluck Jonathan, on the surface of it is attractive. Why? Because, over time, and especially since 2015 he has accumulated a number of positives. One, he thought he lost the election quietly, and he had been living a quiet life, beeb enjoying international recognition, been sent on missions overseas, and so on. And of course, some of the baggage he carried on to 2015, all people thought he was clueless.
“Let’s not also forget that in the bill up to 2023 there were white speculation that the APC was wooing Good luck Jonathan to bring him into the fray to stand for election. He did not come out openly to say, yeah, he was interested in the position, and so on.
“But, you know, Goodluck Jonathan will be a candidate. But of course, he needs to do a lot more to sell himself, to offer himself as an alternative, to show that he’s now different from the Goodluck Jonathan we knew as a person. Circumstances have turned out that some of the criticisms against him were simply political and so on.
“Well, anybody could be a candidate. But I think, given the circumstances right now in the country, the difficulties people are facing the challenging the economic conditions, it will take a lot more for a politician, whether they are from the south, the north or from the moon, to convince themselves, to convince the electorate, that they are different, or that they offer a new alternative.”