Can Jonathan contest again?

6 days ago 16

Letters

September 11, 2025 by Our Reporter

Sir: The question of whether former President Goodluck Jonathan can contest another presidential election has generated much debate. The answer lies in the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended by the Fourth Alteration, Act No. 16 of 2018).

Section 135(2) of the Constitution stipulates that the maximum tenure of a president is two terms of four years each, amounting to a total of eight years.

In the special restriction under the 2018 amendment, the fourth alteration introduced Section 137(3), which provides:

“A person who was sworn in as president to complete the term for which another person was elected as president shall not be elected to such office for more than one single term.”

This provision was deliberately inserted to regulate situations where a vice president assumes office after the death, resignation, or removal of a sitting president.

In 2010, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in for the first time to complete the tenure of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after his death. In 2011, he was sworn in a second time following his own electoral victory.

Therefore, by the clear wording of Section 137(3), Jonathan has already exhausted the constitutional allowance. Having been sworn in twice, he cannot lawfully present himself for another presidential election.

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The framers of the amendment foresaw this precise scenario. They ensured that no individual could indefinitely recycle themselves in power by exploiting succession loopholes. The amendment protects the sanctity of the two-term limit and preserves fairness in the democratic process.

This is not a matter of sentiment or politics. It is a matter of law and constitutional clarity. Should Jonathan attempt to contest again, any challenge to his candidacy would almost certainly succeed in court, because the constitution expressly bars any person sworn in twice as president from seeking the office again, irrespective of whether one of those tenures was partial.

Such an outcome would plunge the nation into needless controversy and distract from the real issues of governance and nation-building.

Some may argue that Jonathan only served one full elected term, but the constitution is clear: it is not the number of years served but the number of swearing-in that determines eligibility.

The constitution is unambiguous. While a president is ordinarily entitled to two terms, a vice president who has been sworn in to complete another president’s term and then elected for a subsequent term cannot run again. In the case of Dr. Jonathan, having been sworn in twice already, his eligibility is constitutionally foreclosed.