Only Jonathan can challenge Tinubu in 2027 – Adeyanju

Human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has declared that former President Goodluck Jonathan is the only southern politician capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Adeyanju, however, expressed doubt that Jonathan would contest against Tinubu, despite being constitutionally qualified to run.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Adeyanju wrote:

“GEJ is the only southern candidate that can defeat Tinubu, but I don’t think he will run against Tinubu.”

He dismissed claims that Jonathan is barred by law from contesting again, stating that the Nigerian Constitution does not permit laws made specifically to target individuals.

“GEJ is not constitutionally barred from contesting. Our laws forbid a situation where any law would be made targeting a particular individual,” he added.

On the 2023 election, Adeyanju alleged that Peter Obi, Labour Party’s presidential candidate, relied heavily on support from churches to secure over six million votes.

He said Obi would not be allowed to repeat the same approach in the 2027 elections.

“This was how the church secured 6 million votes for Obi in 2023. We will not be alive and watch you religious bigots rewrite history,” Adeyanju stated.

He criticised Obi for using religion in his campaign, accusing him of visiting churches frequently, unlike Tinubu, who he claimed did not tour mosques for votes despite running on a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“I can never respect a man who used religion to campaign in a multi-religious country. At least the Muslim-Muslim guys didn’t go round mosques to campaign, Obi did despite my warnings,” he said.