By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — The Presidency last night accused former President Goodluck Jonathan of lacking a clear economic agenda during his administration of over five years, alleging that he ran the country’s economy aground.
According to the Presidency, Nigeria’s current economic woes began under Jonathan’s government.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency also warned Jonathan — described as a gentleman — to be wary of those urging him to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The warning follows a recent comment credited to Professor Jerry Gana, who said the former President would contest the 2027 election and send President Bola Tinubu “back to Lagos.”
While stating that Jonathan was free to join the race, the Presidency maintained that Nigerians would not forget what it described as his “abysmal performance in office.”
The statement read:“As we begin the march towards the 2027 elections prematurely foisted on the nation by the desperation of the opposition ganging up against President Bola Tinubu despite his glaring economic strides, we are once again regaled with a cacophony of voices, most of them full of sound and fury, signifying nothing — to paraphrase inimitable William Shakespeare in one of his classic works, Macbeth.
One recent statement that stands out in its absurdity is Professor Jerry Gana’s. The former Minister of Information and National Orientation, moving to draft former President Goodluck Jonathan into the 2027 presidential race, affirmed that the former President would contest on the platform of the discredited Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which left behind a legacy of economic ruin after 16 years of bad governance.”
The Presidency further dismissed Gana’s claims that Jonathan could defeat Tinubu, describing them as delusional.
It added:“We should caution former President Jonathan to be wary of the PDP’s sugar-coated cheerleaders. Politicians of Jerry Gana’s ilk merely want to lure him into the race to satisfy their personal, political, religious, and ethnic interests. They will abandon him midstream, as they did in 2015, and leave Gentleman Jonathan in the lurch.
Don’t get us wrong: President Jonathan reserves the right to run if he wishes. It is his inalienable right. President Tinubu will wholeheartedly welcome him if he decides to enter the race. But Jonathan will have his day in court to determine whether, having been sworn in twice as president, he is constitutionally eligible to contest and, if successful, be sworn in for a third term.”
Onanuga stressed that Jonathan’s record would also be put to test before Nigerians:
“We cannot forget in a hurry how his regime, devoid of any clear economic agenda, engaged in frivolous spending, ran the economy aground, and put the country in dire straits. The downturn that President Tinubu is working very hard to overcome actually began under Jonathan.
In 2010, Jonathan inherited $66 billion — $46 billion in foreign reserves and $20 billion in the Excess Crude Account. By 2015, when he was voted out, reserves had fallen below $30 billion, and the Excess Crude Account was depleted to $2 billion, despite record oil revenues.
By December 2014, the Federal Government could no longer pay salaries, while at least 28 states owed workers huge arrears.”
The Presidency contrasted this with what it called Tinubu’s “bold reforms” in office: “In just over two years, President Tinubu has removed the ruinous fuel subsidy, unified the exchange rate, and stabilised the economy. GDP grew by 4.23% in Q2 2025, inflation dropped to 20.12% in August 2025 — the lowest in three years — and foreign reserves now stand at $42.03 billion. Investor confidence has returned, the Naira has stabilised, and critical infrastructure projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway are underway.
In plain language, the nation has turned the corner. Nigerians are beginning to reap the gains of Tinubu’s reforms. The PDP broke the economy; President Tinubu is fixing it. Jonathan and others are welcome to the 2027 race, but Nigerians will not allow them to return and run it down again.”
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