Reasons Jonathan Has Not Joined 2023 Presidential Race Revealed

The reasons former President Goodluck Jonathan has not declared his intention to join the presidential race have been revealed.

Recall that some supporters of the former Nigerian leader stormed his private office in Abuja to demand that he declares for the 2023 presidency.

Addressing the demonstrators, Jonathan said that the political process is ongoing, adding that he can’t tell them if he would be declaring or not for the 2023 presidential race.

However, several reactions have trailed the rumour that the former president is planning to join the 2023 presidential race under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a new development, Jonathan is said to have delayed his decision to join the presidential race due to the clamour by the South East to produce the next president and the massive support the region gave him in the 2011 and 2015 elections.

According to This Day, a source close to the former president said Jonathan is also delaying his presidential declaration due to a large number of South East aspirants in the APC.

The source said some northern leaders, including emirs and APC chieftains, have been mounting pressure on the former president to announce his presidential ambition.

He added that some of the APC chieftains also sent emissaries to him in Rivers State over the weekend where he attended the burial ceremony of one of the policemen in his security team.

The source added that even if Jonathan emerges as the consensus candidate of APC, it will be morally wrong for him to contest against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate from the South East.

He said: “Jonathan is under intense pressure by some northern leaders and emirs who have insisted that he is the only one that can stabilise the country at this point.

“But two issues are delaying his decision. One, he is not comfortable with the large number of people that have purchased the presidential forms in APC.

“He believes that a large number of aspirants will make it difficult for the party to reach a consensus and he doesn’t want to come out and be ridiculed. He wants to be the consensus candidate. Again, he is concerned about the popular demand for the Southeast presidency.

“Jonathan doesn’t want to contest against the South-east because of the massive support the region gave him in his previous aspirations.

“He believes that even if he emerges as the consensus candidate of APC, it will be morally wrong for him to contest against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate if the party’s candidate emerges from the South-east.”