Jonathan ineligible to contest 2027 presidency — Justice Salami
Former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, has said former President Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally barred from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Salami stated that Jonathan’s return to power would violate the constitutional limit of two terms, warning that any such victory would be nullified by the Court of Appeal and affirmed by the Supreme Court.
Citing Sub-section (3) of Section 137 of the 1999 Constitution as amended by the Fourth Alteration Act No. 16 of 2018, he said Jonathan’s ambition “is effectively and undoubtedly shot down.”
He advised those supporting the former president to desist, likening their efforts to land speculators who ignore legal warnings — “caveat emptor.”
The retired jurist explained that Jonathan, having completed the remainder of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s term and subsequently serving his own full term from 2011 to 2015, had already exceeded the eight-year constitutional limit.
Salami dismissed claims that the constitutional amendment could not be applied retroactively, stressing that it is a constitutional, not a criminal, provision and therefore valid in determining eligibility.
“The Constitution frowns at retroactive laws only in criminal matters,” he said, adding that amendments to constitutional or civil provisions relate back to the date the original law came into effect.
He concluded that Jonathan’s eligibility to seek the presidency in 2027 “is dead on arrival,” as any attempt would clearly contradict the supreme law of the land.
