Peter Obi meets Jonathan, seeks support for 2027 presidency...

Fresh details have emerged on the closed-door meeting between presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, and former President, Goodluck Jonathan.

CBI News reports that the meeting, which held on Monday, saw Obi alongside some Southeast leaders visit Jonathan at his residence as part of ongoing political consultations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, Obi’s former campaign spokesman and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, disclosed that the visit was aimed at securing support for Obi’s presidential ambition.

He said, “It is a visit to our national leaders and at the same time to appeal to them to give support to the candidature of Peter Obi based on available facts that the Nigerian youths have made up their mind that he is the most preferred candidate.

“And in order to unite this country to ensure that we continue to remain as united as possible, they want to fill in that particular gap of leadership from the southeastern part of this country so that they too can have a feel of belonging since after the Civil War.”

Tanko noted that the appeal to Jonathan was strategic, recalling Obi’s role during Jonathan’s administration and expressing optimism that the former President’s backing would boost his chances.

“I think it’s a noble objective for us to seek the support of his former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, considering the fact that His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, played a very fundamental role during his tenure as President.

“So we felt it was time for him to give us that particular support that would make a lot of sense. The former President is a humble man. And we believe that with his support, it will propel the candidature of Obi to a greater height,” he said.

He added that similar consultations had been extended to northern leaders, including Ango Abdullahi, as part of efforts to build broad-based national support.

“You’ve seen us do the same thing to our northern brothers, Prof Ango Abdullahi and the rest of them. So we felt it was important to also extend the same thing to His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan. That’s exactly what took place today,” he stated.

When asked if the visit formed part of broader consultations to position Obi as a possible consensus candidate amid ongoing opposition talks, Tanko answered in the affirmative.

“Of course! You can never stop consultation even till the last minute in policies, except, of course, the day you are sworn in as the President,” he said.

Obi’s media spokesman, Ibrahim Umar, also confirmed the meeting in a brief statement, describing it as part of ongoing engagements with former national leaders.

Umar quoted Obi as saying, “We need to consult them, especially someone like him (Jonathan) who served the country very faithfully, focused, and did what is expected in a democracy. In this declining situation, you consult him.”

He added that Obi had earlier met with former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, among others, as part of his nationwide consultations.