Presidency 2023: APC revisits negotiation with Jonathan as court gives clearance, INEC extends primaries for 6 days

There are emerging insinuations that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be revisiting the negotiation to draft former President Goodluck Jonathan into the 2023 presidential race on its platform after the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Friday cleared the former President to contest the presidential election. The judgement of the Federal High Court which held that former President Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2023 presidential election, was followed by the announcement of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) extending the dates for parties primaries with additional six days.

A source from the ruling APC disclosed that the court judgement and the INEC extension of the dates for party primaries provided a window for parties to make necessary adjustments, including the APC negotiation with former President Jonathan. The source said that the ruling APC is strongly considering revisiting and reasuming negotiations with the former president and predecessor of President Muhammadu Buhari, since no consensus candidate has been adopted by the party.

The link of former President Jonathan has been controversial since it came to public knowledge.

At the Federal High Court, Yenogoa, on Friday, the Presiding Judge, Justice Isa Hamma Dashen, had in his judgement, declared that former President Jonathan has the right to run for president again in the country, noting that the former president cannot be stopped by any retroactive law.

All parties were initially mandated  to conclude their primaries on June 3.