A GROUP of youths on Friday converged at the Abuja office of former President Goodluck Jonathan to ask him to run for president in the 2023 general elections.
The youths wielded placards and banners with different inscriptions such as ‘Goodluck Jonathan must run for President 2023′, ‘Jonathan is our candidate’, among others.
The former president later went into a closed-door meeting with the leaders of the group.
Addressing the group after meeting their leaders, Jonathan said youths should get involved in the political process for a better Nigeria.
“You are calling me to come and declare for the next election. I cannot tell you I am declaring. The political process is ongoing. Just watch out.
“The key role you must play is to pray that Nigeria gets somebody that carries the young people along; somebody that can also work very hard to see that some of the problems are addressed by the government, and I believe collectively, we will work together,” Jonathan said.
There are unconfirmed reports that there has been pressure on the former president to join the presidential race.
Jonathan was defeated in the general election in 2015 by the current President, Muhammadu Buhari.
If he contests and wins the 2023 polls, he will only have one term of four years in office, going by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The ICIR had reported that a 2023 presidential election campaign poster of former President Jonathan appeared online on January 7.
The development appeared to lend further credence to speculations that Jonathan was being positioned to take over from the incumbent Buhari in 2023.
The campaign poster was produced by a group known as ‘National Agenda for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,’ judging from the inscriptions on the banner.
“GEJ Is Coming Back” was boldly inscribed on the poster, next to an image of the former president posing as if deep in thought.
The ICIR also reported that a former National Secretary of the defunct All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) John Akpanudoedehe had said Jonathan will be given the chance to contest the 2023 election if he joins the party.
A reporter with the ICIR
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