Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday night held a closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark, sparking renewed speculation about a possible return to the presidential race in 2027.
The meeting took place just hours after the ADC concluded its first national caucus session in Abuja, where the party was formally adopted as the coalition platform for opposition forces.
Influential figures within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been pressuring Jonathan to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the next general election. Jonathan, who lost to the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, is constitutionally eligible for only one more term if he decides to run.
Although details of Thursday’s meeting were not disclosed, Jonathan shares long-standing political ties with Mark, who served as Senate President during his administration. Under Mark’s leadership, the National Assembly introduced the “doctrine of necessity,” which cleared the way for Jonathan to assume office as Acting President in 2010 during the illness of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
As of now, the former president has not formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election.
