By Our Correspondent

Why is former President Goodluck Jonathan becoming a reoccurring decimal in APC's search for a presidential flagbearer? Two reasons

First, only Jonathan can tell Nigerians 'I am coming back to bring back the good times', and he would be given half a chance. At least they would remember during his era they still had at least  an assured one meal daily and went to sleep with one eye closed. It was better than the Buhari experience of a daily meal by chance and lying wide awake through the night. Thus during his declaration, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had amongst others declared that he would continue with President Muhammadu Buhari's policies and programmes. Nigerians who listened to him were aghast: Continuity? Of worsening economic indices? rising inflation Insecurity? It  dawned on the APC that they have no convincing story to tell Nigeria to support their ambition to remain in power. Jonathan might as well be their answer to this challenge.

Two, acceptability. To the Northern hawks who are against the Presidency going to the South-East, Jonathan would be a good fit for the Igbo's aspiration. If Ndigbo accepted him under PDP, why not under APC?

Is a Jonathan presidency feasible in the APC? Very much so. He would get an express key in to the 2023 presidential election going by the provisions of Section 31.3 of the new APC constitution which states ''Subject to the approval of the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee may, in special circumstances, grant a waiver to a person seeking the office of President, Vice President, governor, deputy governor, senator, member of the House Representatives, who is otherwise not qualified under this constitution if, in its opinion, such a waiver is in the best interest of the party.”

Recall that Saturday PUNCH had reported in February that some northern emirs had reached out to the former President, asking him to contest.

Recall too that  Jonathan had also stayed away from activities of the PDP, including the last national convention.

Former Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State opined that it was unlikely that Jonathan was still a member of the PDP as he was no longer involved in the party’s activities.

Last week what could taken as the grand plan to usher him into the APC began to take shape as on Thursday, April 21,  Jonathan's posters flooded the national secretariat of the APC on Blantyre Street, Wuse 2, Abuja

Next day, youth and women groups demonstrated outside his  office in the Maitama area of Abuja.

The demonstrators, who arrived in five large buses, held up placards some of which read, ‘Jonathan, Please Run’, ‘Jonathan, do the needful’, ‘Jonathan for 2023’, ‘Jonathan Declare Now’ and ‘Goodluck Please Come Back, We Love You’.

A spokesman for the group, Mayor Samuel, who is also the Convener of the Youth Compatriots of Nigeria, said, “We were deceived and brainwashed by those who claimed they could do it in 2015.

“Now, we know better, under Jonathan the minimum wage could buy one or two bags of rice. What do we have today? We are begging President Jonathan to forgive us, we have realised our mistakes; we want him back to complete what he started.”

Jonathan subsequently invited the leaders of the protesters for a private meeting. After the brief meeting, the ex-President addressed the demonstrators outside, advising the youths to run for office instead, adding that the constitution had been amended as far back as 2018 in order to give the youths a chance to contest.

The ex-President said he was not sure if he would run. He, however, asked them to ‘just watch out’.

 “Yes you are calling me to come and declare for the next election, I cannot tell if I’m declaring. The political process is ongoing just watch out. The key role you must play is that Nigeria must get somebody that will carry young people along,” the former President added.

Saturday PUNCH again reveals that a top source in the APC says that the former President was seeking an assurance that he would be handed the party’s presidential ticket.

The APC chieftain, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Jonathan has already been President before. So, the APC cannot offer him anything except the presidential ticket. Imagine him contesting against Osinbajo and Tinubu and losing? Wouldn’t that be disgraceful?

“So, he has made his position clear. If he is to come to the APC, he must be given the assurance that he will be given the party’s ticket. That is his demand.”

The source added that the former President may be sold as a “compromise candidate” amid the raging zoning debate in the country.

“Jonathan is the only Nigerian alive that can promise to serve only one presidential term and abide by it because he is limited by the constitution. If he serves one term, then power returns to the North. It is also not an easy decision but I can assure you that President Buhari will have no qualms with a Jonathan Presidency,” he added.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the APC National Working Committee would give special waivers to select aspirants based on the powers conferred on it by the National  Committee.

Denial

Reno Omokri, a former media aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has debunked reports that his former boss would soon declare to run for the 2023 presidential elections.

Reports had earlier emerged that Jonathan, whose poster surfaced in some parts of the country recently, would soon join the presidential race.

Meanwhile, a post by Reno Omokri on his official Facebook page on Sunday urged Nigerians to disregard a comment by the Arise TV’s “The Morning Show” presenter, Reuben Abati that Jonathan would soon declare

According to Reno, the former Nigerian leader has not made such a statement, saying it was the imagination of the journalist.

He said, “Disregard the news credited to Reuben Abati that former President Jonathan will soon declare. He never made any statement like that. At best, it is a figment of the imagination of that journalist #FakeNews!”