The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Sunday, advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against fielding either former President Goodluck Jonathan or former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, as its presidential candidate in 2027.
But the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has cautioned Keyamo, and other cabinet members to concentrate on their official duties and desist from dabbling into premature 2027 election permutations.
The group warned that such reckless politicking undermined governance and could further aggravate the hardships faced by the Nigerian people.
Keyamo, on X, contended that the opposition risked serious consequences in the upcoming election if it relied on Jonathan or Obi as its candidate.
He said the PDP remained in a “non-enviable position” after failing to zone its 2023 ticket to the South, a decision he said cost the party support in its traditional strongholds in the South-south and South-east.
The minister stated that nominating Jonathan carried a constitutional danger tied to section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which he suggested could bar anyone sworn in twice as president from contesting again.
While creating several scenarios, Keyamo argued that if eventually Jonathan is barred by the court from running after nominations have closed, the PDP will be declared as having no candidate.
He said: “One of its attractive targets as a Presidential candidate is ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, because of his purported eligibility to run for only one term. But, if he is fielded, the party runs the risk of not having a candidate at all by virtue of section 137 (3) of the 1999 Constitution (Fourth Amendment). The constitutional amendment was made after the court judgment which cleared him to run in 2015, so nothing is decided yet on that new amendment, hence I use the word ‘risk’ advisedly.
“All the arguments as to whether the section can be interpreted to affect him will not be decided on social media, but at the Supreme Court. If he is barred from running after nominations have closed and the PDP is declared as having no candidate, nobody should scream ‘judiciary is corrupt’ because such a large party saw the judicial danger ahead and deliberately ignored it,” Keyamo, a senior lawyer maintained.
He emphasised that if the PDP decides to field its most attractive South-west candidate, no other region of the country will vote for a fresh Yoruba candidate who would be eligible for fresh two terms in office, pointing out that the candidate will battle with the ‘well-oiled’ APC structures in the South-west.
According to him, the same scenario will apply to Obi, arguing that the PDP is in a dilemma because it committed an ‘original sin’ in 2023 by lacking the balls to zone its presidential ticket to the South.
He added: “If the PDP woos back Peter Obi, scenario three above will still apply to him, hence all his shout of serving one-term of recent. In addition, the principled ones amongst the ‘obidients’ will see him as going back to his vomit of ‘structure of criminality’ and may not be too vociferous in their support anymore.
“The young social media warriors may lampoon anyone talking about these zoning sentiments, but that is the reality of our politics and it is not about to end. Except something extraordinary happens, the party may have to wait till 2031,” he maintained.
He added that the party would bear responsibility if it ignored the legal risk and lost its candidacy after nominations closed.
But HURIWA, in a statement, yesterday, described as insensitive and diversionary the long political commentary made by Keyamo on his X account, where he analysed the possible setbacks of the opposition PDP in the 2027 presidential election.
HURIWA said it was disturbing that a sitting minister, entrusted with the crucial mandate of managing Nigeria’s aviation and aerospace development, could devote his time to speculative political analysis while millions of Nigerians were suffocating under crushing economic policies and failing public infrastructure.
The group admonished President Bola Tinubu to call his cabinet members to order, stressing that ministers were appointed to rescue Nigeria’s collapsing economy and not to become political commentators or strategists for the ruling party.
HURIWA noted with dismay that cabinet officials like Keyamo were neglecting their core responsibilities, thereby dragging the country back by over six decades through a combination of poor policy implementation and coordinated toxic taxation policies.
According to the rights group, the present administration has presided over a regime of excessive levies and charges that discourage businesses, suffocate innovation, and kill off youth entrepreneurship.
Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan and Chinedu Eze
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