Segun Sowunmi, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, has said that former President Goodluck Jonathan could pose a major challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu if he joins 2027 presidential race.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking during an interview on Nigeria Info FM 99.3, Sowunmi described Jonathan as a possible “wildcard” for PDP in the upcoming elections.
Although Jonathan has remained silent on whether he will contest, speculations about his return to the presidential race on the PDP platform have persisted.
Sowunmi said, “Jonathan may be our wildcard, Jonathan is the man. I don’t know because he has not confirmed but he may be our wildcard.”
He argued that Jonathan enjoys legitimacy across several regions, noting, “A Jonathan will not have legitimacy problems in the north, he will not have legitimacy problems in the south-south, he will have good voters in the north and middle belt.”
While stressing that Jonathan has not declared his ambition, Sowunmi warned that his entry would shake up the race.
He said, “He may be the wildcard, but Jonathan has not said he will run, and I don’t look at people who are winking in the dark, I don’t join people to wink in the dark.”
“But if Jonathan does come out, I can guarantee you that Bola Tinubu will have a bigger problem on his table and he will need a bigger strategy than the one he is running now, to defeat him.”
The PDP chieftain also criticised Tinubu’s government, pointing to dissatisfaction in northern Nigeria.
He said, “If you go to the far corners of the north and you hear what they are saying about Bola Tinubu’s government, you will cry and I can guarantee you that if it’s the Yoruba and their votes that he is banking on, they are not the kind of people that give their votes to only one person.”
