The 2027 presidential ambition of former President Goodluck Jonathan appears to be gathering momentum as a former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has been appointed to lead the former president’s consultation team in the South-West, it has been learnt.
Jonathan, who first became Nigeria’s president in 2010 following the death of his boss, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was elected in 2011 but lost his re-election bid to the late Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
Although the former president has remained silent on his next political move, sources close to him disclosed that he has been holding discreet consultations ahead of 2027.
“The former President does not want to hastily declare his intention. He is still weighing his chances and will only throw his hat in the ring when he is convinced the odds favour him,” a source familiar with the development said.
Calls and text messages sent to Mimiko’s phone number were neither answered nor replied to as of press time.
It was further learnt that some influential figures in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have been persuading Jonathan to consider running on their respective platforms.
It will be recalled that Jonathan recently held a closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark. Although details of the meeting were under wraps, party insiders said the discussion centred on Jonathan’s possible return to the presidential race in 2027.
A faction within the ADC is reportedly advocating that the party’s presidential ticket be zoned to the South, to allow the region to complete an eight-year tenure before power returns to the North.
According to sources, this plan is part of the reason some ADC leaders are pushing for Jonathan, who would only be eligible to serve a single four-year term to join the race.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s estranged ally and former governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola, is said to be leading the pack of ADC leaders pushing for the south to complete eight years.
It was also gathered that Aregbesola was said to have suggested Mimiko’s name to Jonathan to lead his South-West consultation, as his own position in the party’s national executive committee would make it difficult for him to do so.
Mimiko and Jonathan share a long-standing political relationship that dates back to when both served as governor and president respectively. In 2012, Jonathan was accused by the Ondo State chapter of the PDP of tacitly supporting Mimiko’s re-election bid under the Labour Party.
When Mimiko defected to the PDP in late 2014, he was appointed to head Jonathan’s South-West campaign team for the 2015 presidential election.
Since leaving office, Mimiko has traversed several political platforms. He contested the Ondo Central senatorial seat under the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in 2019 but lost. Before the 2023 elections, he returned to the PDP and became aligned with the faction led by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
After the 2023 polls, many of Mimiko’s political associates, including some of his former commissioners, defected en masse to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State.
However, sources said Mimiko himself has remained politically inactive, as alleged opposition from some powerful interests within the presidency frustrated his move to formally join the APC.
It was learnt that Mimiko’s new role as Jonathan’s South-West frontman is to consult Yoruba traditional rulers, spiritual leaders, and other key stakeholders across the region to gauge their disposition towards a potential Jonathan presidential bid.