{"id":172907,"date":"2025-08-07T22:24:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T21:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan"},"modified":"2025-08-07T23:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:40:56","slug":"2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan","title":{"rendered":"2027 Election Ex-Presidential Aspirant Backs Jonathan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared support for the possible return of former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former Labour Party flag bearer, Peter Obi, to the PDP\u2019s presidential primary race.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Thursday in Kaduna through his media aide, Hassan Mahmoud, Olawepo-Hashim described the potential interest of the trio in the PDP\u2019s 2027 ticket as a welcome development capable of reigniting the party\u2019s founding ideals of inclusiveness and democratic competition.<\/p>\n

According to him, \u201cthe more, the merrier.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said a vigorous and engaging primary would not divide the PDP but instead help it re-establish itself as the true party of democracy in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Olawepo-Hashim recalled the PDP\u2019s founding vision in 1998, noting that it was never intended to be a closed political club but a national platform built to accommodate all forms of opinion, ideology, and aspiration.<\/p>\n

He recounted how, as secretary of the publicity subcommittee chaired by the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, a journalist first proposed the umbrella symbol that later became the party\u2019s emblem.<\/p>\n

He paid tribute to political leaders who shaped the PDP\u2019s early trajectory, including the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon Lar, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Chief Melford Okilo, Professor Jubril Aminu, and Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had giants of Nigerian politics under one roof. Many of them had what it took to lead Nigeria, yet some stepped down and others went through a credible, competitive process, such as the Jos convention of 1999 that eventually produced Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the party\u2019s candidate,\u201d Hashim recalled.<\/p>\n

He argued that the PDP\u2019s early strength came not from backdoor consensus or gatekeeping politics, but from a deep commitment to internal democracy and open competition. He praised the leadership of Chief Solomon Daushep Lar, the party\u2019s first interim national chairman, for keeping the PDP\u2019s doors open to a wide spectrum of political actors during its formative years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who feared competition quietly exited the founding process. But we stayed the course, and Nigeria benefited from it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Hashim, an unsuccessful aspirant in the 2019 presidential election, said for the PDP to become relevant again at the national level, it needed to return to the precepts of fairness, transparency, and unity upon which the party was founded. He said the aspirational hopes of Jonathan, Atiku, Obi, or any other candidates should not be viewed through the lenses of suspicion and mistrust but accepted as a healthy indication of renewed political life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Jonathan, Atiku, Obi, and others wish to contest, they should be welcomed. Let the best ideas and visions emerge through fair competition. That is how to build a party of the future,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

His statements come at a time when the internal debate within the PDP on issues of zoning, succession, and possible partnerships leading to the 2027 general elections is intensifying.<\/p>\n

While the three figures mentioned\u2014Jonathan, Atiku and Obi\u2014have not either confirmed any return to the PDP or indicated any formal interest in the 2027 elections, speculation continues regarding possible political realignments within the opposition<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared support for the possible return of former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former Labour Party flag bearer, Peter Obi, to the PDP\u2019s presidential primary race. In a statement issued on Thursday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":172906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[8857,254,65,222],"class_list":["post-172907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-hashim","tag-nigeria","tag-pdp","tag-peter-obi"],"yoast_head":"\n2027 Election Ex-Presidential Aspirant Backs Jonathan - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has decl ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2027 Election Ex-Presidential Aspirant Backs Jonathan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has decl ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T21:24:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T22:40:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/sm_1754593900.905631.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"2027 Election Ex-Presidential Aspirant Backs Jonathan\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-07T21:24:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-07T22:40:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan\"},\"wordCount\":550,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/sm_1754593900.905631.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Hashim\",\"Nigeria\",\"PDP\",\"Peter Obi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/2027-election-ex-presidential-aspirant-backs-jonathan\",\"name\":\"2027 Election Ex-Presidential Aspirant Backs Jonathan - 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