The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has welcomed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja affirming the eligibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election despite previously taking the oath of office twice as President.
In a statement issued on Monday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, described the judgment as a victory for democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law.
“This judgment is clearly in alignment with the law and common sense, as laws cannot have a retroactive or retrospective effect,” Ememobong said.
The PDP said the suit challenging Jonathan’s eligibility was “vexatious” and amounted to a gross abuse of court process.
“The suit, which, for all intents and purposes, was vexatious and a gross abuse of court processes, was a very unnecessary distraction that ought not to have been instituted in the first instance,” the statement added.
The party also applauded the punitive cost awarded against the plaintiff, saying it would discourage what it described as politically motivated litigation aimed at derailing democracy.
“The punitive cost against the plaintiff is also very much welcomed, to serve as a deterrent to intending busybodies and irritants, who make themselves available for use by those seeking to derail democracy,” Ememobong stated.
According to the PDP spokesman, the judgment, combined with the screening waiver earlier granted to Jonathan by the party, has now fully cleared the way for the former President’s possible return to the race ahead of the 2027 election.
“This development, coupled with the screening waiver that our party had granted President Goodluck Jonathan, has made the pathway for his presidential rescue mission totally unfettered,” he said.
The PDP also confirmed that its primaries to select candidates for the 2027 general elections will hold on May 28, 2026.
Jonathan, who served as Nigeria’s President from 2010 to 2015, has continued to receive calls from party stakeholders and supporters urging him to contest the presidency again in 2027.