A legal luminary, Monday Ubani, SAN, says former President Goodluck Jonathan has the legal right to run for the 2027 presidential election under the provisions of the 1999 constitution.
​
Ubani made this known on Tuesday, while responding to questions in an interview on Arise Television.

Ubani stated that his position was based strictly on constitutional interpretation and judicial pronouncements and not on political preferences.

He said, “I want to say this, that my personal opinion, the legal interpretation of the eligibility of the former president clearly is not a validation. Whatever opinion that I express is not a validation of whether I want him to run for the presidency of Nigeria 2027.”

The senior lawyer further maintained that previous court rulings had affirmed Jonathan’s eligibility, stressing that the constitution does not restrict him from contesting.

While recalling Jonathan’s emergence as president following the death of former President Musa Yar’Adua in 2010, Ubani clarified that his initial assumption of office was not through an election but by constitutional operation.

The legal luminary further noted that Jonathan’s first elected term began in 2011 and that court judgments had consistently upheld his right to seek re-election.

2027: Jonathan legally eligible to run for president – Senior lawyer, Ubani