Tompolo, Niger Delta Leaders Pressure Jonathan To Drop 2027 Ambition

 Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, is reportedly under increasing pressure to abandon any plans of contesting the 2027 presidential election and instead throw his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Former

According to sources who spoke with Vanguard, the campaign is being driven by prominent Niger Delta leaders, including ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.

Some of Jonathan’s kinsmen are said to have appealed to him to shelve his speculated ambition, stressing that regional and national sentiments are not in his favour.

Tompolo, accompanied by Chief Kestin Pondi, Managing Director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, and Joshua Maciver, APC’s Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2023 Bayelsa election, reportedly met Jonathan at his Otuoke country home on October 16.

Insiders said the closed-door meeting, though portrayed as a review of peace efforts in the Niger Delta, was “purely political.”

A source revealed, “Tompolo appealed to the former president to shelve his rumoured presidential bid in 2027. He told him that public sentiment in the Niger Delta and across Nigeria is more favourable to President Tinubu’s continuation in office.”

Tompolo, who also leads the PBAT Door-2-Door Movement, a grassroots campaign for Tinubu’s re-election, reportedly cautioned Jonathan that he might not get the expected “home support” if he decided to run.

The source added, “He advised Jonathan not to be swayed by claims that he could unseat President Tinubu, pointing out that the majority of Niger Deltans now prefer supporting Tinubu’s re-election bid.”

According to another insider, Jonathan acknowledged Tompolo’s counsel and promised to reflect on it before making his position public.

However, speaking briefly to journalists after the meeting, Jonathan downplayed political undertones, saying Tompolo’s visit was to “review the prevailing peace in the Niger Delta.”