Bring back Jonathan, group urges ex-president to contest 2027 election

A pro-Jonathan pressure group, Bring Back Our Goodluck, on Sunday in Kano called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to stage a political comeback and contest the 2027 presidential election, declaring that Nigerians were “misled in 2015” into voting out his administration.

Speaking at a press conference at the Aminu Kano Centre for Democracy, Research and Training, Mambayya House, the group’s National Coordinator, Dr. Grema Kyari, said the former president remained the “surest path to rescue Nigeria” from the hardship, insecurity, and divisions under the All Progressives Congress-led government.

Kyari argued that Jonathan’s return was not just desirable but necessary, citing global examples of political comebacks, including Donald Trump in the United States and John Mahama in Ghana.

“We were misled in 2015 by the APC under the late Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Tinubu, Yemi Osinbajo, and Chief Bisi Akande. They sold Nigerians deceitful promises, which they never fulfilled. Instead of progress, the country has been plunged into hunger, poverty, and frustration,” Kyari told journalists.

The group insisted that Jonathan presided over Nigeria’s last era of economic stability, pointing to relatively stable food prices, affordable fuel, agricultural reforms, and youth empowerment initiatives such as YouWin! and SURE-P.

Kyari contrasted this with what he described as today’s biting hardship, citing the sharp rise in food prices.

“Under Jonathan, a bag of rice sold for about N7,800; today the same bag costs between N80,000 and N100,000. Millions have been pushed into hunger.”

The coordinator added that Jonathan’s legacy as a unifying leader who appointed officials across ethnic and religious lines made him the right candidate to heal Nigeria’s divisions.

Beyond urging Jonathan to run, the group appealed to other opposition leaders—including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-Rufai, and others—to “shelve personal ambition” and rally behind Jonathan as a consensus candidate.

Kyari said 2027 would not be “just another election year” but a “rescue mission” to stop what he described as the APC government’s erosion of democracy.

The campaign, which started in the Northeast, has now moved to the North-West, which Kyari described as “the heartbeat of commerce and political influence in Northern Nigeria.”

He closed the press conference with a direct appeal to Jonathan:

“In 2015, you chose peace over power. In 2027, Nigeria needs you to choose the people again. Let us chase out bad luck, poverty, and hunger. Let us bring back our Goodluck.”