‘It Will Kill His Name’- APC Stakeholders Reject Jonathan Amid Calls For Him To Join Presidential Race

Despite disquiet in certain quarters about the move to have former President, Mr Goodluck Jonathan, join the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, some forces in the party are continuing discussions with the former president, sources have told THE WHISTLER.

It has emerged that the extension of the date for sale of forms for the party was to allow Jonathan ample time to make up his mind even as the leadership of the APC is engaging the former president on the best way to go about it.

The APC during the week extended the sale of its expression of interest and nomination forms for various categories of aspirants ahead of its primaries by four days.

The initial deadline for the sale of the forms was Friday, May 6, 2022, but this changed following a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, extending it to Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

A revised timetable issued by the National Organising Secretary of the party, Mr Sulaiman Muhammad Argungu, before then had fixed May 11 as the last day for submission of completed forms and accompanying documents.

But a source at the party’s office revealed that the party will force aspirants into toeing party line just as it did during its National Convention that produced the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Executives.

More than a dozen chairmanship aspirants had purchased forms and scaled through the screening process only to be promised that they will have a refund should they step down for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anointed, who turned out to be Adamu.

Similar scenario is being prepared as the party has expressed fear of serious crisis with the number of aspirants for its presidential ticket.

To ensure amicable resolution of the development, the party will not zone its presidential ticket but will ensure that aspirants except Jonathan sign a special form called Form 18 to ensure that none of the aspirants will institute a proper case in court against the party afterwards.

In April when protesters stormed his office in Abuja while other groups staged their protests in Suleja, Niger State, calling on him to declare for president, Jonathan addressed the protesters saying “I cannot declare because some processes are still ongoing.”

He added, “Yes, you are calling me to come and declare for the next election, I cannot tell I’m declaring. The political process is ongoing just watch out. The key role you must play is that Nigeria must get somebody that will carry young people along.”

As the rumour of the leadership of the APC wooing him swells, a group on Thursday staged a protest at the party’s headquarters warning that fielding Jonathan will lead to defeat.

The protesters were led by Mr Toyin Tahim, with a petition, which read in part: “Welcoming Jonathan to APC will damage the party. Attracting Jonathan to APC will scandalise the party. Imposing Jonathan as APC’s presidential candidate will ultimately kill the party.

“How do we justify bringing someone we called corrupt, incompetent and clueless back to power through the same party that threw him out of power? It doesn’t make any sense.”

The protesters carried banners with inscriptions that read, “Don’t kill APC with Jonathan”, “Jonathan was rejected in 2015”, “APC has better presidential materials”, “Jonathan is electoral liability” and “Jonathan is bad luck to APC”.

When contacted, the spokesman of the APC Mr Felix Morka, denied there was any such arrangement.

Speaking with THE WHISTLER on telephone on Friday, he said, “’I don’t know; I have no reaction (to the extension of purchase of forms to accommodate Jonathan). That is not the position of things.

“There is nothing like a Jonathan coming into the APC. There is no connection, end of story.”

He however said “I have nothing to say,” when asked if the party leadership was in discussion and negotiation with Jonathan.

However, speaking on the development, a member of the APC and an aide of the Deputy Senate President, Mr Daniel Bwala denied the connection between extension of sale of forms and the arrival of Jonathan.

He, however, said a lot of things are happening politically, and it will be difficult to state categorically if Jonathan was being wooed to fly the party’s ticket in the next election.

Bwala said, Jonathan is not the reason why forms are extended. Parties need money to execute their elections because party is having financial problem the more people buy the form the more revenue comes for the party.

“The extension of the forms like the chairman said is because more people are coming just as the chairman has said so they are extending the date so as not to shut out people. But the simple truth is that the party wants to make money.

“Jonathan has money to buy his form and there is no conversation going on to persuade Jonathan. It is alleged that Jonathan has agreed on the condition that a waiver is given to him.

“Waver; people in the party, if they find favour, they can always give you waiver. But the point is can Jonathan win the delegate election? If you are not a member of a political party and you are coming as an outsider how then do you win delegates at a short period of time?

“Remember delegates vote along their caucus line or along the line of their leaders, so if Jonathan is accepted by majority of the people that control the delegates then it is possible. For him to win the primary, the odds are not in his favour,” he said.

Bwala, who’s a lawyer added that, “I do not think that the party will impose Jonathan on anybody otherwise you will succeed in given him ticket but you lose the election because they will do anti-party.

“You could recall in 2019 election, apart from Buhari winning the ticket, Buhari had to have everybody working together for him. Even then we managed to get to two point something million to defeat Atiku. Everybody working together.

“So if you are now going to face another Atiku in 2023, with a fragmented party, don’t you think Atiku will defeat the candidate from the party?

“The Jonathan thing, well I cant say it is a rumour. The facts are there to suggest that Jonathan is being wooed to come but it remains to be seen whether he will. And he will not be in a hurry to obtain a form unless he can extract commitment from people he believe can influence things, that they will make it happen for him. Because on what benefit will he even buy a form and come and be defeated? A former president, it will kill his name.

“So he will only pick the form when he can guarantee that he is going to be endorsed as the candidate of the party,” he said.

He asked: “Do you endorse Jonathan when you have people like Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu)? Do you endorse Jonathan when you have people like Amaechi (Rotimi)? Do you endorse Jonathan when you have somebody like Yemi Osinbajo (Vice President)? You have Kayode Fayemi; you have Rochas Okorocha.

“All those people that came together to form this party, do you think they will just sit down and allow that happen? In fact jonathan’s major problem is the Niger Delta. Will Amaechi accepts him? Will Timipre Silva accepts him?

“I know people like, Governor Akpabio (Godswill), the governor of cross River (Ben Ayade), they never had issues but are they enough because they too came not quite long into the party.

“So the Jonathan story is part of the normal Political permutation but I can not say it’s impossible but I am only giving you facts and circumstances to suggest whether or not it’s true,” he stated.

Some of the aspirants on the platform of the APC are the National Leader of the party, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; and Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba,

Others are Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; a former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole; a former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Dr Kayode Fayemi and Ms Uju Kennedy.

Also in the race are Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Ihechukwu Dallas Chima, Usman Iwu, Ben Ayade, Rotimi Amaechi, Mr Tein Jack-Rich, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and Adamu Garba II.