*Urges Jonathan To Mentor Instead Of Running In 2027
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In a pointed intervention amid swirling rumors of a political comeback, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Jibrin Samuel Okutepa has reiterated his long-held view that former President Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally ineligible to contest the 2027 presidential election, warning that any victory would breach the two-term limit enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
Appearing on Arise News’ evening program on Tuesday, Okutepa, a vocal critic of Jonathan’s past electoral ambitions, drew on his 2013 analysis originally published in Sahara Reporters to dismantle the eligibility debate. “This is not the first time we’re having this conversation,” he noted, referencing his earlier article that questioned Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid. “Simple mathematics under the 1999 Constitution shows he’s already served six years: two completing the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s term from 2010, and four in his own elected tenure from 2011 to 2015.”
Okutepa’s remarks come hot on the heels of comments by Presidential Spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who on Monday welcomed Jonathan’s potential run as an “inalienable right” but flagged it as a potential “third term,” deferring the matter to the courts. Onanuga’s statement followed Professor Jerry Gana’s assertion that Jonathan would secure an automatic PDP ticket for 2027, a claim the PDP swiftly dismissed as unauthorized.
Dismissing arguments that Jonathan’s succession to the presidency doesn’t count as a full term, Okutepa invoked the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Marwa v. Nyako (2011), which caps executive service at eight years total. “The time fixed by the Constitution is like the Rock of Gibraltar it cannot be elongated,” he emphasized. A 2027 win, he calculated, would extend Jonathan’s cumulative service to 10 years, flouting Section 137’s prohibition on more than two elected terms.
Okutepa further bolstered his case with the Fourth Alteration Act of 2018, which explicitly bars anyone completing a predecessor’s term from more than one additional elected stint. “This isn’t retroactivity; it’s clarification of the existing framework—no new constitution was created,” he clarified, countering claims that the amendment doesn’t apply backward since Jonathan’s tenures predated it. He rejected notions of “vested rights” to the presidency, arguing that eligibility requires party nomination and electoral victory, neither of which overrides constitutional limits.
The SAN addressed a 2022 Federal High Court ruling in Yenagoa affirming Jonathan’s eligibility, noting he hadn’t reviewed it but stressing that lower courts are bound by Supreme Court precedents. “The issue will end at the apex court, where microscopic application of the eight-year cap will prevail,” he predicted.
Beyond the legal hurdles, Okutepa urged Jonathan whom he praised as a “statesman” for his peaceful 2015 handover to forgo a personal bid in favor of mentorship. “His ambition isn’t worth the blood of any Nigerian or a violation of the Constitution,” Okutepa said, echoing Jonathan’s own 2015 concession speech. “Patriotism can be channeled through kingmaking: back a candidate with impeccable character and competence to avoid unending litigation.”
Okutepa’s analysis revives a debate he has championed since 2013, when he first argued against Jonathan’s 2015 run in a widely circulated piece. At the time, he highlighted the 2007 joint ticket with Yar’Adua that propelled Jonathan to the vice presidency, underscoring that succession doesn’t reset the term clock. His stance has since influenced discussions on executive term limits, including in 2022 when similar rumors swirled ahead of the 2023 polls.
As PDP insiders and Jonathan allies like former aide Denge Josef Onoh push back insisting the ex-president’s single elected term qualifies him for another shot the legal scholar’s intervention injects fresh caution into the speculation. With the PDP’s national convention looming in November, Okutepa’s words serve as a stark reminder: Nigeria’s grundnorm remains supreme, and any 2027 ambitions must square with its unyielding math.
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