By Paul Joseph
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, fueling fresh political speculation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting, which took place at the Presidential Villa on Sunday, was conducted behind closed doors, with neither the Presidency nor Jonathan’s camp issuing an official statement on the purpose of the visit.
The only public indication of the meeting was a photograph released showing both leaders together at Aso Rock.
Jonathan’s visit comes amid ongoing political discussions surrounding his name following attempts by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, to nominate him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Despite the development, the former president has maintained silence and has neither accepted nor rejected the nomination publicly.
The Turaki-led PDP faction had earlier claimed Jonathan authorised it to submit his nomination alongside those of governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, INEC rejected the submission, insisting that all nominations must be made through its designated online portal in accordance with the Electoral Act and the commission’s guidelines.
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, stated that candidate nominations could only be processed electronically through the commission’s approved platform.
The commission’s decision effectively nullified the faction’s submission, and Jonathan’s name was absent from the final list of 19 presidential candidates later released by INEC.
Despite the setback, the PDP faction insisted its actions complied with the Electoral Act, arguing that it was denied access to INEC’s electronic nomination portal.
The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, accused the electoral commission of failing to remain neutral in the party’s internal crisis and warned against recognising any candidate list other than the one submitted by his group.
He also criticised a recent Federal High Court judgment relating to the dispute, arguing that it conflicted with existing decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
Jonathan’s meeting with President Tinubu marks the first publicly known engagement between the two leaders since the controversy over his reported presidential nomination, further intensifying political interest as preparations for the 2027 elections gather momentum.
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