‘I Don’t Know What He Stands To Gain Risking Another Four Years’- Ex-Minister Questions Jonathan

A former Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke, has dismissed suggestions that former President Goodluck Jonathan could return to active partisan politics ahead of the 2027 general election.

Naija News reports that Duke described such moves as misguided, saying Jonathan’s stature as a statesman should not be subjected to political calculations.

He spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time.

Duke said Jonathan’s tenure as President remained one of the defining periods in Nigeria’s democratic history.

“The news of the possibility of the distinguished President Goodluck Jonathan’s ability to return to active politics is one that I take with a lot of trepidation because this is an iconic personality whose tenure as a president redefined some of the very best aspects of Nigeria,” he said.

He argued that Jonathan had built a reputation beyond electoral politics, both in Nigeria and across Africa.

The former minister expressed concern that some political actors were trying to use Jonathan’s image and integrity for their own interests.

Duke said, “How then do you think that after having acquired the experience of being one of Nigeria’s most cerebral presidents, one who has achieved such a grand level and achievement across the continent, would now be dragged into what I see as a political lottery by people who should actually work harder to ensure that he can sustain and expand the perimeters of his influence as a statesman, not just to Nigeria, Africa, but globally.

“I think it is unfortunate that people who have not yet been able to put their house in order are now assuming that they can trade the integrity and the overwhelming personality and image of a former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as perhaps a pawn on the political dashboard.”

Duke said he believed Jonathan understood the implications of the political discussions around his name.

He added that the former President was unlikely to risk his statesmanly standing for another presidential ambition.

Duke stated, “This is where I have my trepidations, and I believe that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has his senses and his head firmly fixed, and he understands that a number of these issues that are being raised around him.

“I do know that what he stands to gain as a former president is far beyond risking another four years of aspiration.”