…Ex-President will run, assures associate

 Political associates of former President Goodluck Jonathan are divided over the decision of the former president to contest the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

While some are favourably disposed to Jonathan throwing his hat in the ring, the other group hold the view that the former president should maintain his “dignified aloofness” to partisan politics.

Those who want Jonathan to run point to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari as examples of past leaders who became presidents because they bowed to pressure to contest presidential elections.

It is gathered that associates of the former president who want him to run again argue that all great ventures in life succeeded because those behind the ventures took risks.

“High risks guarantee high reward. The reason most people are poor is because they are too scared to take risks. Even in the United States, people like the Rev. Jesse Jackson mocked Barack Obama when Obama sought to be president. Imagine if Obama threw in the towel as a result of that,” held a associate

The division reared its head few hours after a group of cattle herders Monday night raised N100 million to buy former President Jonathan a presidential nomination form of the APC.

Following the announcement that they bought Jonathan an APC presidential nomination form, the party’s national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu hosted the former president to a private meeting at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja.

Even though details of the meeting weren’t made public, sources said that the meeting centred on Jonathan’s newly-acquired membership of the APC, and his presidential ambition on the party’s platform.

Dramatically, moments after Jonathan left the APC national chairman’s residence, the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation issued a statement disclaiming the cattle breeders’ group that bought their principal the APC presidential nomination form. The statement was said to have greatly embarrassed the former president.

The disclaimer by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation was orchestrated by a a top official during the Jonathan Presidency.

The appointee is considered by many as being responsible for most of the mistakes Jonathan made as president. He did much for himself and very little to help his principal’s administration.

“He made several enemies for President Jonathan, and disappeared after the 2015 elections. Now that that the Jonathan comeback is appearing to be a reality, he has suddenly appeared to begin to create confusion,” stated one female associate.

It is also gathered that the distractions notwithstanding, the former President is favorably disposed to contesting and winning the APC presidential primaries as a prelude to winning the general elections next year.

“I can confirm to you that President Goodluck Jonathan has made up his mind to run. A thousand distractions cannot dissuade him. He is a man of character. He is strong-willed. He has the credentials and the experience. If he wasn’t interested, he would have said so the first day the youth supporters besieged his office, urging him to run.

“If you recall, he told Nigerians to “watch-out.” Those seeking to blackmail him with his new membership of APC are being unfair. Nobody is talking about all those who dumped PDP for APC and vice-versa.

“They seem to forget that but for President Obasanjo’s intervention in 2007, Senator Adamu Abdullahi would have emerged the running mate,on the PDP ticket, to Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State. They also forget that, but for providence, Senator Iyiola Omisore would have governor of Osun State, elected on the PDP platform.

“They’ve so unfairly singled out Jonathan for crucifixion simply because he dumped the PDP for APC. Meanwhile, some of the people seeking the PDP presidential ticket today have switched party several times. They seem to forget that most of theseso- called PDP chieftains betrayed him in 2015, aside the fact that

Jonathan, as President, allowed the formation of APC,” she declared.