Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze, has dismissed speculation that Jonathan would defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress and run for president in 2023 as mere rumours.
Although many claimed Jonathan’s frequent visits to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd. ), at the Presidential Villa added credence to the overtone, Eze said the meetings had nothing to do with defection or presidential ambition.
Jonathan, the former ruling party’s candidate in 2015, was defeated by Buhari, the APC candidate.
Since taking office, the APC regime has waged war on some of the former President’s aides who are thought to be corrupt.
However, as the call for power to be shifted to the south of the country grew louder, some northern interest groups within the APC allegedly became concerned about losing power for the eight years Buhari’s successor might be in office.
It was speculated that power brokers believed Jonathan, who had been in office for four years, could be supported to serve another term in order to allow another northerner to become President after being out of power for only four years.
Eze, on the other hand, dismissed the allegations, claiming that Jonathan’s regular presence at the Villa was to brief his successor on his assignments as special envoy, Economic for West African countries, and that the ex-President met with Buhari on Thursday to brief him on the situation.
When pressed further by our correspondent, Eze, who was initially hesitant to speak on the alleged political machinations, said, “Everything they’re saying is speculation.”
“The defection issue and presidential ambition are all rumors,” he said. It is without a foundation. We don’t want to have to react to such (things) again. We’ve previously made statements on the subject. ” Former President Jonathan visited the White House to brief President Obama on the upcoming ECOWAS meeting in Ghana.
The meeting will focus on Mali’s political situation. As a result, he was at the Presidential Villa as a special envoy to brief President Buhari.
“There are issues in Mali, and at the upcoming meeting, ECOWAS leaders will examine the transition timetable proposed by Malian rulers and take appropriate action.”
