{"id":30648,"date":"2026-05-08T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=30648"},"modified":"2026-05-08T14:30:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:30:34","slug":"2027-jonathan-considers-comeback-as-court-hears-eligibility-suit-tinubu-policies-draw-harsh-comparisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/2027-jonathan-considers-comeback-as-court-hears-eligibility-suit-tinubu-policies-draw-harsh-comparisons\/","title":{"rendered":"2027: Jonathan Considers Comeback as Court Hears Eligibility Suit, Tinubu Policies Draw Harsh Comparisons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN)<\/strong>, Former President Goodluck Jonathan is considering a comeback in the 2027 elections as a Federal High Court in Abuja hears a suit today challenging his eligibility. The development rekindles debate over Jonathan\u2019s political journey, his 2015 defeat to Muhammadu Buhari, and comparisons with President Bola Tinubu\u2019s embattled administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan served as Vice President under President Umaru Musa Yar\u2019Adua from 2007 until Yar\u2019Adua\u2019s death in 2010, when Jonathan was sworn in as president. He won the 2011 presidential election under the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP), defeating Muhammadu Buhari and other challengers, becoming the first president from the oil-rich Niger Delta. His administration later faced mounting criticism over insecurity, particularly Boko Haram\u2019s insurgency and the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, as well as corruption scandals that eroded public trust. In 2015, Jonathan lost reelection to Buhari, marking the first time an incumbent Nigerian president was defeated. His concession call to Buhari was hailed globally as a democratic milestone, earning him praise for statesmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving office, Jonathan remained active in diplomacy, serving as a peace envoy across Africa while avoiding partisan politics but maintaining influence within PDP and beyond. Now, with Nigeria facing economic hardship under Tinubu, Jonathan\u2019s potential return has sparked nostalgia among some Nigerians who recall his era of relative economic stability. The court case will determine whether constitutional amendments bar him from running again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jonathan\u2019s government between 2010 and 2015 was marked by a naira exchange rate of \u20a6160\u2013\u20a6200 per USD, retention of fuel subsidies, and moderate inflation. Security challenges peaked with Boko Haram\u2019s insurgency and the Chibok kidnapping, while his leadership style was seen as indecisive but tolerant of opposition. Tinubu\u2019s government, by contrast, has overseen a naira above \u20a61,400 per USD, removal of subsidies, record inflation, and persistent insecurity from banditry and farmer-herder clashes in Plateau and Kaduna. Labour unions argue Tinubu\u2019s reforms are harsher than those under Jonathan and Buhari, while critics describe his governance style as bold but unilateral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reactions have been swift across platforms. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says Jonathan\u2019s government was \u201cfar better\u201d than Tinubu\u2019s, citing worsening exchange rates, debt, and living costs. Civil society analysts argue Jonathan\u2019s democratic concession in 2015 remains a benchmark, while Tinubu faces criticism for failing to cushion reforms. On social media, hashtags like #JonathanComeback<\/strong>, #TinubuVsJonathan<\/strong>, and #BringBackJonathan<\/strong> trend, with supporters praising Jonathan\u2019s era of \u201crelative stability\u201d and critics warning against recycling old leaders. Some PDP members welcome Jonathan\u2019s potential return, seeing him as a unifying figure, while others argue Nigeria needs fresh leadership. International observers continue to cite Jonathan\u2019s peaceful concession in 2015 as a model for African democracies, while Tinubu\u2019s reforms are closely watched for their impact on Nigeria\u2019s fragile economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan\u2019s comeback bid, if cleared by the courts, could reshape Nigeria\u2019s 2027 race. His legacy of peaceful concession contrasts sharply with Tinubu\u2019s embattled reforms, fueling debate over whether Nigerians prefer technocratic stability or bold restructuring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN), Former President Goodluck Jonathan is considering a comeback in the 2027 elections as a Federal High Court in Abuja hears a suit today challenging his eligibility. The development rekindles debate over Jonathan\u2019s political journey, his 2015 defeat to Muhammadu Buhari, and comparisons with President Bola Tinubu\u2019s embattled administration. Jonathan served as Vice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":30651,"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":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3699,2,2096,776,4,478,8,3,1138],"tags":[15205,12832,15194,15195,14078,15202,15203,10005,15201],"class_list":["post-30648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-business","category-economics","category-educational","category-featured","category-financial","category-jobs","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-democratic-concession","tag-fuel-subsidy-removal","tag-goodluck-jonathan","tag-jonathan-comeback","tag-naira-depreciation","tag-nigeria-labour-congress","tag-pdp-opposition","tag-social-media-reactions","tag-tinubu-reforms"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Former-President-Goodluck-Ebele-Jonathan-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C550&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30648","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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30648"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30655,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30648\/revisions\/30655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}