Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Jibrin Okutepa has made a strong constitutional argument against former President Goodluck Jonathan’s potential candidacy in the 2027 Nigerian presidential election. According to Okutepa, allowing Jonathan to run and win would contradict clear provisions of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended.
Section 137(3) of the constitution, introduced through the Fourth Alteration Act in 2018, limits any individual who has served as president or acting president, including successors who completed another president’s term, to a maximum of two terms in office. Although Jonathan succeeded late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua by operation of law in 2010 before winning an election in 2011, Okutepa maintains that this counts toward the two-term limit.
Okutepa noted that Jonathan’s constitutional rights to run again were effectively exhausted when he completed Yar’Adua’s remaining term and served his own elected term from 2011 to 2015. The constitutional amendment was aimed precisely at closing loopholes that previously allowed such successors to contest multiple times.
While some legal opinions argue that the amendment should not apply retrospectively and thus would not bar Jonathan, Okutepa emphasized the clear intent of the law to prevent individuals from serving more than two terms, whether through election or succession.
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and judicial authorities to uphold the constitution and reject any bid by Jonathan that contravenes these legal limits. Failing to do so, he warned, would set a dangerous precedent and undermine Nigeria’s democratic framework.
Okutepa’s analysis has intensified debate around Jonathan’s eligibility, with strong opinions on both sides. As political parties and supporters speculate on candidates for 2027, the constitutional question remains a pivotal issue that could ultimately be decided by Nigeria’s courts.
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