{"id":22071,"date":"2025-10-24T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=22071"},"modified":"2025-10-24T14:24:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T13:24:20","slug":"jonathans-comeback-wike-calls-it-fiction-inec-apc-and-senate-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/24\/jonathans-comeback-wike-calls-it-fiction-inec-apc-and-senate-weigh-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan\u2019s Comeback? Wike Calls It Fiction \u2014 INEC, APC, and Senate Weigh In."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigeria\u2019s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied reports linking him to alleged efforts to support former President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s return to the presidential race in 2027, stating that Jonathan has never discussed such ambitions with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJonathan has never told me. He has never called me one day to say, \u2018I\u2019m being pressured to run,\u2019\u201d Wike said during a televised media parley on Friday. He dismissed the speculation as media-driven and cautioned against relying on unverified reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments come amid growing political chatter about Jonathan\u2019s potential comeback, which has stirred debate within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and across Nigeria\u2019s geopolitical zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In response, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)<\/strong> issued a statement reaffirming its neutrality. \u201cINEC does not engage in speculation about candidacies. Our role is to ensure a transparent and credible electoral process, regardless of who contests,\u201d said INEC spokesperson Festus Okoye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate President Godswill Akpabio<\/strong> called for calm and urged political actors to focus on strengthening democratic institutions. \u201cWe must avoid distractions and concentrate on delivering governance. The 2027 elections will come, but let\u2019s not destabilize the system with premature campaigns,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former President Jonathan, through his media office, declined to confirm or deny any political intentions. \u201cDr. Jonathan remains committed to Nigeria\u2019s unity and democratic progress. Any decision about future political involvement will be made in consultation with stakeholders and the Nigerian people,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activists and civil society groups expressed concern over the politicization of Jonathan\u2019s name. \u201cDragging him into speculative power games undermines the credibility of our democratic discourse,\u201d said Aisha Lawal, director of the Civic Integrity Network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)<\/strong> were quick to respond. APC youth leader Ibrahim Musa said, \u201cJonathan had his time. The APC is focused on continuity and progress under President Tinubu. We welcome any support he offers, but we\u2019re not looking backward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wike also distanced himself from claims that former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, had emerged as PDP chairman. \u201cI don\u2019t know about Tanimu Turaki becoming chairman. Maybe he\u2019s chairman of another faction. It\u2019s not the PDP I know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former Rivers State governor criticized the current PDP leadership for sidelining key stakeholders. \u201cThe way these present governors are doing, they will bury this party,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite no longer holding a governorship, Wike argued that his contributions to the PDP should earn him a seat at the table. \u201cAre you telling me that because I\u2019m not a governor, you hold PDP meetings, call them stakeholders, and exclude me \u2014 and you want to survive? Certainly not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wike remains a powerful voice within the PDP, often clashing with party leadership over internal crises and power-sharing arrangements. His comments come amid growing uncertainty about the party\u2019s direction ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigeria\u2019s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied reports linking him to alleged efforts to support former President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s return to the presidential race in 2027, stating that Jonathan has never discussed such ambitions with him. \u201cJonathan has never told me. He has never called me one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wike.webp?fit=1080%2C773&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22071"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22074,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22071\/revisions\/22074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}