A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The court dismissed a suit seeking to stop Jonathan from participating in the next presidential poll on the grounds that he had previously taken the oath of office twice before leaving office in 2015.
The suit was instituted by Johnmary Jideobi, who asked the court to restrain the former president from presenting himself as a candidate under any political party for the 2027 election.
The plaintiff had also sought an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting, processing or publishing Jonathan’s nomination for the presidential contest.
Jideobi urged the court to interpret provisions of Sections 1(1), 1(2), 1(3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution in determining whether Jonathan could lawfully seek another term in office.
However, in its ruling delivered on Tuesday, the court cleared the former president to participate in the race, putting to rest speculations over his constitutional eligibility.
The judgment comes days after a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki reportedly adopted Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate and granted him a waiver ahead of the 2027 election.
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