According to popular human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, former president Goodluck Jonathan can’t contest in the upcoming Presidential elections.
Falana cites a part of the amended 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the reason why. This comes following speculation that Jonathan might run for the seat of the President under the All Progressive Congress (APC).
In a statement, Falana called attention to Section 137 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to prove Jonathan cannot contest in 2023.
He said,
“The former President is disqualified from contesting the said election by 137 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended which provides as follows: ‘A person who was sworn in to complete the term for which another person was elected as President shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term.’”
Goodluck Jonathan
Back in 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amended bill into law.
A Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang at the time said,
“The other one is Act or Bill number 16 which is now an act and the intent of that act is to ensure that where a Vice President succeeds that president and where a deputy governor succeeds a governor, he can no more contest for that office more than once more.”
“And the fact is that having taken the oath as President once, and you can only contest for once again and no more. That is the intent of this amendment.”
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When President Umaru Yar’adua came into power in 2007, Goodluck Jonathan was his Vice President. Following Yar’adua’s death in May 2010, Jonathan as his VP took a new oath of office to complete his Presidential term. In 2011, he contested for the seat on his own accord against current President Muhammadu Buhari and won. However in 2015, he contested again under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to President Buhari.
