A former southeast spokesman for President Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has claimed that Tinubu was behind the 2015 loss of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
He made the remark while defending Jonathan’s right to contest in 2027.
Onoh said Jonathan’s downfall came from trusting the wrong people around him, stressing that it was Tinubu who pulled the strings that led to the defeat.
According to him, “Tinubu was the invisible magician that cast the spell that led to Jonathan’s loss at the polls. The President should not fall in the same trap by the voices that surround him now. The one major sincere voice he should listen to is his wife, many will betray him in the coming months.”
“Therefore, President Tinubu should not be deceived by anyone telling him otherwise. This was exactly how Jonathan’s inner cabal during the build up to 2015 elections deceived him into believing that he was invisible, that Nigerians loved him, to the extent he was too carried away that he felt invisible and never saw Tinubu coming.”
The former presidential aide challenged a recent warning by Tinubu’s aide Bayo Onanuga that Jonathan’s eligibility might face fresh court scrutiny.
He argued the issue was already decided and cannot be reopened under legal principles.
Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, Onoh presented a certified court judgment.
He said Jonathan’s constitutional qualification is firmly settled through a binding ruling and anything contrary is politically motivated.
According to Onoh, the 2022 Federal High Court judgment in Yenagoa (Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022) where Justice Isa H. Dashen ruled that Jonathan’s 2010 accession (after Yar’Adua’s death) did not count toward the two-term limit. The judge held that Jonathan was elected only once in 2011, and thus remains eligible for future contests.
Onoh dismissed the 2018 constitutional amendment (Section 137(3)) as non-retroactive. He said it cannot strip Jonathan of rights accrued before the change. He cited the doctrine of res judicata, and that no appeal was filed within the time limit. He added that reopening settled judgments would undermine legal certainty.
The former presidential spokesman warned Tinubu not to rely on misleading legal voices and urged him to engage Jonathan on ideas, not litigation.
He reminded that past critics misled Jonathan before the 2015 polls, and however urged the president to focus on national priorities and allow space for democratic competition.