By Lateef Adegbite
Between April and now, there have been rumours making the rounds that Former President Goodluck Jonathan, is under intense pressure from the camp of President Muhammu Buhari , a retired Army General and the Leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC to join the party to contest the 2023 , general elections.
As a prelude to winning the heart of the former Nigerian President to join the APC, a crowd of supporters, had held a rally , calling on him to join the 2023 Presidential race on the ticket of the APC. He was said to have addressed the crowd calling him to come and declare for the 2023 presidency. ‘’I can’’t tell you I am declaring, the politics is ongoing, just watch out’’, he had told them.
T Unknown to him, the Coalition of northern groups which were said to have organised the rally and believed to be working closely with the Presidency and the party National Leadership had a different agenda to raise N100 million to purchase the Party Expression of Interest and nomination forms in his name and then, transfer it to him.
25 Presidential aspirants in APC, were said to have paid the mandatory N100 million fee each, to purchase the party Expression of interests and Nomination Forms. Given that the retired Army General’s Camp want the former Nigerian President, who is a registered member of the Opposition of the Opposition People’s democratic Party, PDP, to contest the 2023, general elections on the ticket of the APC, the proxy may have raised the N100 million fee which was said to have been used to purchase the Party Presidential forms for Jonathan on Monday, May 9, 2022.
The amount was said to have been credited to The APC Collection Account through Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Branch of Heritage Bank. It reads in part: Notification of Credit into Account All Progressive Congress,(APC) Collections Account 5600007616. We write to inform you that that your subject Account has been credited with the sum of 100,000000 naira only, being Expression of Interests form for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for Presidency. ‘’Please take this as a Credit advice of the transaction in this regard’’, it further said.
The Heritage transaction notice which was said to have been signed by one Isaiah Ediae, Experience Center Manager and Daniel Oniko, Regional Head, Abuja, was said to have been addressed to the APC, National Organising Secretary, in Abuja, on Monday, May 9, 2022.
The question on the lips of most people was: who owns the Heritage Bank Account where the amount thatwas credited to the APC Collection Account was debited.The Coalition of northern group and their sponsors may have expected the former President who, many believe was rigged out of office in 2015, to jump at the offer but got it wrong.
Prior to the buying of the APC Presidential forms by the proxies for the former President, some of his ex- Special Advisers and ministers who had served during his Administration were said to have told him ‘’to forget about switching from PDP to APC, because the party will not fulfill its promise to adopt him as their Consensus Candidate for the 2023 general elections’’.
They were aid to have made him to know that it was a ploy to lure him to the party to win public sympathy as he is not in a position to win the APC primaries because he has no structure in place barely a month to its primaries. The ex-ministers, particular, were said to have made it clear to him that ‘’it would be in is best interest to remain as an international statesman than to allow himself to be dragged into the murky waters of party politics for the 2023 Presidential race’.
He may have heeded the advice of these close ex-Special advisers and ministers. It was not surprising that when the news that the proxies had paid the N100 million to purchase APC Presidential nomination forms for him, he bluntly rejected it Political analysts may have seen Jonathan’s action as a big blow to the APC which is desperate to retain power in 2023.
In apparent reaction to the APC Presidential nomination form that was purchased for Jonathan on Monday 9, 2022, when the sales of the party Presidential nomination forms ought to have ended on Friday, May 6, 2022, Ikechukwu Eze, his Media Adviser, had told Nigerians that ‘‘the former President did not authorize the purchase of the forms’’.
He noted that ‘‘if the former President had wanted to contest the upcoming 2023, general elections, ‘’he would have made his intentions known to the public and not to go through the backdoor’’. The ex-President may have dampened the enthusiasms of the northern Coalition group that had wanted to drag him to join APC, when ‘’he has not taken a decision as to whether he would contest the 2023 general elections or not, or spoken to anyone about the possibility of switching parties’’.
‘’Buying APC Presidential Nomination forms in the name of Jonathan without his consent , knowing fully well that this is the position that he had held in this country for over six years is considered an insult to his person’’, he had said. Appealing to the general public to disregard it, he maintained that he is not a member of the APC.
The APC Leadership in Bayelsa state may have known that the bubble has burst, forcing Dennis Otiotio, the state Chairman, to speak out. He had said that the former Nigerian President is at liberty to join the party but has yet to do so’’.
The same Coalition of northern group who were said to have raised N100 million to purchase the APC Presidential nomination Forms for Jonathan to contest the 2023, general elections, were said to have also bought the Forms for Akiwumi Adesina, a former minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, during Jonathan Administration and now President of the African Development Bank, ADB.
The rumour making the rounds initially was that 28 groups consisting of Youth Arise Movement, Nigerians in Daspora, One Nigerian group, Prudent Youth Association of Nigeria, Women groups, farmers, people with disabilities and other civil society groups had contributed money to purchase the APC presidential nomination forms for him.
The ADP President, may have jolted the Coalition group and their sponsors, when he tacitly rejected the APC Presidential forms on the ground that the group did not get his consent before going ahead to buy the forms. The Coalition group, who were said to be under pressure from several quarters to buy the APC presidential forms for the Continental banker and others may have done so beat the party deadline before trying to convincing him to accept the offer. APC’s Ploys To Retain Power In 2023 Buys Forms For Jonathan And Others.
The Heritage transaction notice which was said to have been signed by one Isaiah Ediae, Experience Center Manager and Daniel Oniko, Regional Head, Abuja, was said to have been addressed to the APC, National Organising Secretary, in Abuja, on Monday, May 9, 2022.
The question on the lips of most people was: who owns the Heritage Bank Account where the amount thatwas credited to the APC Collection Account was debited.The Coalition of northern group and their sponsors may have expected the former President who, many believe was rigged out of office in 2015, to jump at the offer but got it wrong.
Prior to the buying of the APC Presidential forms by the proxies for the former President, some of his ex- Special Advisers and ministers who had served during his Administration were said to have told him ‘’to forget about switching from PDP to APC, because the party will not fulfill its promise to adopt him as their Consensus Candidate for the 2023 general elections’’.
Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, who had said that he has not come to that decision to run for the office of the President of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was said to have got the Greek gift of the ruling APC, Presidential nomination to contest the 2023 general elections. It was said to have been purchased for him by three interest groups: Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, RFAN, Friends of Emefiele and Emefiele Support Group.
The CBN governor had rejected the APC Presidential forms presented to him by the group, which had raised N100 million to buy the APC Expression of Interests and nomination forms, stressing that” if he decides to contest for the political police , he would prefer to use his personal resources to buy the Forms” but that was how far he could. He may not have been able to stand his ground like Former President Jonathan or Adesina, theADB, President, who had rejected the APC Presidential forms purchased for them by a northern Coalition group because he is a public servant.
He may have headed to a Federal High Court, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, seeking enforcement of his rights to contest the 2023 general election while still in office to appease the the group who are highly connected.
The Court had rejected his ex-parte application to prevent Mahmood Yakubu, a Professor and Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Abubakar Malami, minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation from disqualifying him from contesting the 2023, Presidential election. He may not found it funny as he fears that it may backfire on him.
