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2023: Senior Lawyer, Agbakoba Reveals What Constitution Said About Jonathan Contesting For President

by Victor Ndubuisi
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Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a distinguished Nigerian lawyer, has contributed his voice to the debate over former President Goodluck Jonathan’s ability to run for president in 2023.

In a statement released to Newsmen on Wednesday, May 11th, Agbakoba stated that the matter may be examined from legal, moral, and ethical perspectives.

He stated, however, that he would only provide his thoughts from a legal standpoint.

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The senior lawyer cited section 137 (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that a Vice President who completes the term of a President who dies in office is only eligible for one four-year term if he wishes to run for President.

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This is to ensure that such a person does not surpass the eight-year maximum term restriction.

However, Agbakoba contended that the constitutional clause does not apply to Jonathan because the statute took effect after he (Jonathan) left office and the law cannot be retroactive.

As a result, the Senior Advocate argued that Jonathan is constitutionally and legally entitled to run for President in 2023 should he decide to run.

In the words of Agbakoba, “The eligibility of Former President Goodluck Jonathan to run for the office of President has become a vexed issue. In reviewing whether he is eligible to run, I will consider strictly the legal issues. The moral and ethical questions are not for me to consider.

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“The question of Jonathan’s eligibility is determined by section 137 (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The purpose of Section 137(3) of the Constitution is to resolve the dilemma of a Vice President who completes the tenure of a President who dies in office. Such a Vice President if he decides to run for the Office of President will be eligible for one term of 4 years only. Even though ordinarily he will be entitled to two terms of 8 years. The logic behind it is that if the Vice President fills the Presidents void and runs for two terms, he is most likely to exceed the constitutionally prescribed maximum tenure of 8 years.

“But the question is whether Section 137 (3) of the Constitution applies to Former President Goodluck Jonathan. I don’t think it applies to him because at the time Former President Goodluck Jonathan was President, Section 137 (3) of the Constitution was not in existence and there is a rule that you cannot backdate laws. Former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to run for the office of President.”

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According to Anaedoonline.ng, the mystery surrounding a potential Jonathan presidency in 2023 also include rumors that the former Nigerian leader is considering defecting to the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and running on the party’s platform.

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The rumors intensified lately after a northern organization acquired N100 million in APC nomination papers for him, although Jonathan has denied any connection or authorization of the group’s actions.

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