Jonathan speaks on ‘pressure’ to contest in 2023

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has denied media reports that he is under pressure to contest the 2023 presidential election.

Jonathan made the denial in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze.

He said he is rather focused on promoting peace and sustainable democracy in Africa through his foundation.

“There was nothing like that. The former President has not made any comments nor spoken to anyone on the coming elections,” he said.

Describing the reports as stale and fake, he added: “If you check online, you will discover that a story with similar headline had been published in the past by few shady online sources.”

“The last time this same story circulated online was before the 2019 Presidential elections. It has now come up again.”

“The good thing is that Nigerians already know this to be fake. That is why Nigerian newspapers and serious online news media will not publish such falsehood.”

Jonathan had lost his re-election bid to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Many have described the former president as a “hero of democracy” for conceding defeat and congratulating his opponent even before the announcement of the final results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).