PDP Hails Court Decision on Jonathan’s Eligibility, Dismisses Suit as Baseless

The Peoples Democratic Party has welcomed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja affirming that former President Goodluck Jonathan remains eligible to contest for Nigeria’s presidency despite previously taking the oath of office twice.

In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP described the ruling as one that aligns with both the law and common sense.

According to the party, laws cannot operate retroactively or retrospectively, adding that the suit challenging Jonathan’s eligibility was unnecessary and constituted an abuse of court process.

“The suit, which, for all intents and purposes, was vexatious and a gross abuse of court processes, was a very unnecessary distraction that ought not to have been instituted in the first instance,”

The PDP also welcomed the punitive cost awarded against the plaintiff, describing it as a deterrent to individuals allegedly being used to distract or undermine democratic processes.

“The punitive cost against the plaintiff is also very much welcomed, to serve as a deterrent to intending busybodies and irritants, who make themselves available for use by those seeking to derail democracy,.

The opposition party further said the court judgment, alongside the screening waiver earlier granted to Jonathan by the PDP, has cleared the way for what it described as his “presidential rescue mission.”

According to the statement, the development has made Jonathan’s path to contesting the presidency “totally unfettered,” ahead of the party’s primaries scheduled for May 28, 2026.

The statement was signed by Ememobong on behalf of the Interim National Working Committee of the PDP.