Eligibility of Former President Jonathan and Ondo Governor Aiyedatiwa for Presidential and State Elections

Strategic Insights -

As multiple groups push for former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election and campaigns to extend Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa's tenure gain traction for 2028, lawyers and legal experts weigh in on their eligibility under the 1999 Constitution and the Fourth Alteration Act. The Fourth Alteration Act, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, stipulates that a person who assumes the office of president or governor to complete a term is eligible for only one additional term of four years. However, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, ruled in May 2022 that the provision cannot apply retroactively to bar Jonathan from contesting the 2023 presidential election.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Fourth Alteration Act of 2018 states that a person who assumes the office of president or governor to complete a term is eligible for only one additional term of four years.
  • In 2022, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, ruled that Section 137(3) of the constitution, which was introduced by the Alteration Act, cannot apply retrospectively to bar Jonathan from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
  • The court held that Section 137(3) cannot apply retrospectively unless the legislature explicitly states that it should do so.
  • A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal held in 2023 that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to hear a case challenging Governor Sylva's nomination for re-election.
  • The Court of Appeal ruled that Kolomo, the plaintiff, lacked locus standi to challenge Sylva's nomination for re-election.
  • In 2024, a lawyer, Shola Elekan argued that Aiyedatiwa's election as deputy governor in 2020 is constitutionally distinct from the office of governor and does not count as one of the two elections referenced in Section 182(1)(b).
  • Elekan argued that Governor Aiyedatiwa is fully eligible to contest for another term because he was not elected as governor twice as stipulated in Section 182(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
  • The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the tenure of governors who won rerun elections in 2008 should count from the date of their initial inauguration in 2007, not from the date of the rerun election.

Statistics:

  • By 2018, the Fourth Alteration Act had become effective, stipulating that a person who assumes the office of president or governor to complete a term is eligible for only one additional term of four years.
  • In 2022, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, ruled that Section 137(3) of the constitution cannot apply retrospectively to bar Jonathan from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
  • In 2023, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal held that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to hear a case challenging Governor Sylva's nomination for re-election.
  • By 2024, a lawyer, Shola Elekan argued that Governor Aiyedatiwa is fully eligible to contest for another term because he was not elected as governor twice as stipulated in Section 182(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
  • In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the tenure of governors who won rerun elections in 2008 should count from the date of their initial inauguration in 2007, not from the date of the rerun election.

Sources:

  • "Plot to Draft Jonathan for 2027 Presidency Thickens in North." Vanguard, 2024.
  • "Jonathan's Eligibility for 2023 Election: Lawyers Weigh in." The PUNCH, 2022.
  • "Fourth Alteration Act: A Guide to Its Provisions." Blueprint, 2018.
  • "Supreme Court Delivers Judgment on Governors' Tenure." Punch, 2012.
  • "Court of Appeal Rules on Sylva's Eligibility." Vanguard, 2023.