A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Osita Chidoka has said that from his last conversation with former President Goodluck Jonathan, he never indicated an interest in declaring to run for President come 2023NjenjeMediaNewsreports
He also made it clear that the former President will come out boldly to declare his intention if he wants to run for President, insisting that his former boss does not need to be lured by anyone to join the race.
Chidoka, a former minister of aviation, said that from the last conversation he had with Jonathan, the former President did not indicate any interest in running for any public office.
The former minister said this when he appeared on Arise TV on Saturday.
He said, “As for President Goodluck Jonathan, I have not discussed #GEJiscoming with him. In the last conversation I had with him, he wasn’t indicating interest in running for any public office.
“He is in a good place because he represents something that every part of the country can relate to. He has learnt his lessons from his time in office.
“He is in that position that he is the leading light of the PDP as he came into power from Deputy Governor to President in the PDP. I believe his political future would be determined by making public choices.
“I don’t think former President Jonathan would be in that position where he is being called to come and be president.
“If he wants to be president, he would come out boldly and say, ‘I want to be president of Nigeria again because I have the experience and have the capacity to bring back peace in Nigeria and to restore capacity in Nigeria.”
He said the Bayelsa-born politician can make that case for himself, adding that he does not need to be lured by anyone to run for the presidency.
“The President Jonathan I know, if he has made up his mind to run, would indicate so, and I am sure he will if he makes up his mind to run,” he said.
There are speculations that the former President is being lured to return to power by some Northern politicians to complete a four-year term then return power to the North.
Jonathan and the PDP were defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress in 2015, ending the PDP’s 16 years of leadership in Nigeria.
