The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, says it has waived screening requirements for former President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the party’s presidential primary.
Babangida Aliyu, a member of the PDP screening committee, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja.
The development comes amid fresh claims that Jonathan has already obtained the party’s presidential nomination form ahead of the 2027 elections.
Umar Sani, who served as senior special assistant on media and publicity to former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, said the former president had taken concrete steps signalling interest in the race.
“He has procured the nomination form. In fact, he is about to come and submit the forms publicly,” Sani said during an appearance on Trust TV on Tuesday.
According to him, ongoing crises within the PDP may have contributed to Jonathan’s cautious approach towards formally declaring his ambition.
Sani also dismissed suggestions that the party was merely using Jonathan’s popularity for political relevance, insisting that many Nigerians remained nostalgic about the former president’s administration.
“The fact of the matter is that we believe that Jonathan is the right choice at this moment,” he said.
He further expressed confidence that legal challenges against Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the presidency again would fail in court, arguing that the issue had already been settled judicially.
Jonathan served as Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015 before losing re-election to former President Muhammadu Buhari.