A recent legal opinion by Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo has concluded that former President Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally ineligible to contest the 2027 presidential election. The opinion, citing the 1999 Constitution as amended and various Supreme Court judgments, argues that seeking another term would violate the constitutional limit on tenure.
The analysis centers on two key legal arguments. First, it references Section 137(3) of the constitution, a provision introduced by the 2017 Alteration No. 17. This section states that “a person who was sworn in to complete the term of a President shall not be elected to the office of President more than once.”
The legal opinion asserts that since Jonathan first assumed office in May 2010 to complete the term of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, his subsequent election in 2011 and full four-year term (2011–2015) satisfied this single-election provision. Any further attempt to run would be a direct violation of this amendment.
Secondly, the opinion draws on the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of Marwa v. Nyako (2012), which established a maximum cumulative tenure of eight years for a person holding the office of president or governor.
According to the legal analysis, if Jonathan were to serve another four-year term, his cumulative years in office would amount to 10 years (completing two years of Yar’Adua’s term, plus his four-year term, plus a new four-year term), thereby exceeding the constitutional eight-year limit.
The opinion also references other judicial precedents, including Obi v. INEC (2007), which held that a tenure begins from the date of the first oath of office, and INEC v. Musa (2003), which reaffirmed the need for a strict interpretation of constitutional eligibility provisions.
In its final conclusion, the legal opinion states that “by virtue of Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended…),” and in line with relevant judicial pronouncements, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally disqualified from running for president in 2027. It warns that any such attempt would be an extension of his tenure beyond the constitutional maximum and would likely be struck down by the courts.
