The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, has criticised Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, over his comments on the party’s affirmation of former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
Jonathan’s candidacy was ratified on Saturday at a special national convention in Abuja.
Although Jonathan was not present at the event, his certificate of return was received on his behalf by Fred Agbedi, a member of the house of representatives from Bayelsa state.
The former president has yet to state his intention to run for office publicly.
On Sunday, Keyamo asked Jonathan to reject the presidential ticket, describing the Turaki-led PDP’s action as a “bizarre comedy”.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ini Ememobong, national publicity secretary of the Turaki faction, said Keyamo lacked the moral authority to offer political advice to Jonathan.
Ememobong said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is apprehensive about Jonathan’s planned return to office.
“The desperation and anxiety that have increasingly characterised reactions from the ruling APC to the growing national clamour for President Jonathan’s return to leadership make it necessary to set the record straight,” the statement reads.
Ememobong said Keyamo, who was known for challenging governments and defending democratic principles, now appeared comfortable with the “shrinking of political space for the opposition”.
He asked the minister to focus on the challenges in the aviation sector and the broader administration rather than commenting on the PDP’s internal affairs.
Ememobong said Nigerians are more concerned about economic hardship, insecurity, rising unemployment and declining purchasing power than political remarks directed at Jonathan.
He said no “intimidation, blackmail, or scaremongering can prevent Nigerians from freely expressing their political preferences or supporting leaders they believe can help reposition the country”.
“If Festus Keyamo truly wishes to offer advice, he should begin by advising the APC-led administration to address the challenges confronting ordinary Nigerians. Until then, his attempts to lecture others on governance and political judgment will continue to ring hollow,” he said.
“Finally, if any political party has exemplified cluelessness in public administration, it has been the APC-led federal government since 2015. So if Keyamo is attempting to point a finger of cluelessness, he should look at the four pointing back at him.”
Ememobong said democracy guarantees citizens the right to make leadership choices without interference from those who presently occupy public office.
