Nigeria’s former First Lady Patience Jonathan has killed any insinuation of former President Goodluck Jonathan returning to power in 2027, saying she would rather campaign for the re-election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mrs. Jonathan spoke at the weekend in Abuja after receiving an award, ‘The Women Icon Leader of the Year’ handed to her by a group, ‘ Accolades Dynamics Limited.
Managing Director of Accolade Dynamics, Ms. Dofan Chizaram, said the honour was a testament to men and women who have impacted Nigeria and the African continent positively.
According to Mrs. Jonathan, having received the support of Tinubu and his wife Oluremi in 2011, the Jonathans owed it a duty to reciprocate the good gesture.
The event had in attendance the daughter of the current president and Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo.
Some political groups and individuals, including the Nigeria Rescue Mission Organisation, have urged Jonathan to consider taking another shot at the position, with Bauchi State’s Governor Bala Mohammed saying he would bury his own presidential bid in 2027 if Jonathan showed interest.
Seeking a second term, Jonathan lost in 2015 to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, at the weekend, the former First Lady foreclosed any call on her husband to return to the presidential race, urging anybody who’s interested to ‘step back’.
Addressing Folashade, Dame Jonathan said the market women’s leader should not fret about her father’s re-election.
Patience Jonathan submitted: “I was supposed to call her (Folashade) first, but I saved her for last: the daughter of our wonderful President, the President of Nigeria, the one and only we believe in—President Bola Tinubu. Iyaloja, thank you for standing with women because these are your women. Carry them along; they are with you.
“All the way, we are with you. No shaking. We will follow. Direct us, and we will follow because there is only one President at a time. We don’t have two Presidents. I am outspoken—if I don’t like something, I will say it. But if I like something, I die with it.
“I believe in one President. I believe in turn by turn. When it’s your turn, I will support you. When it’s not your turn, step back—so that the country can move forward.”
She recalled that her relationship with the Tinubus had always been cordial, even before Jonathan became President.
Patience Jonathan added: “I didn’t just know her (Oluremi Tinubu) just because she’s the First Lady, no. We worked together. We worked as a group. We are groups. We worked when I was a deputy governor’s wife. We worked when I was a governor’s wife.
“I know her. I talked with Oluremi. Even when my husband was the vice president, Oluremi stood with her husband and supported us during our first election. They supported us. So, for me, I have a conscience. I cannot abandon my friend, whether you like it or not.
“Because, you see, this is turn by turn. Today is my turn—I will go. Tomorrow, it will be another person’s turn—then we go. And when we go, will we still meet. Where will we meet, I don’t know.
“I stand by my friend (Tinubu’s wife). My friend is great. I told her I would campaign with her. I’m not denying her. I’m not running. I’m not going back to the villa. If you call me, I will not go.”
The former First Lady also spoke of her looking younger outside government.
She said: “I say it every day. Don’t you like how young I look? People say, ‘Mama, you are young, you are young!’ it is because I have rest of mind, yes. I don’t want to go there—let my friend be there. Let me also ‘wahala’ her the way she used to ‘wahala’ me when I was there! Let me also tease her. And until she comes out, she will be young. But for now she won’t be young. “
Mrs. Jonathan vowed to continually back the 35 percent affirmative action for women in governance.
She said: “During Obasanjo’s time, we worked for it and the executive approved 35 per cent. My husband also maintained it. But when it comes to elective positions, the men dominate and shut us out. May God touch their hearts to understand that we are their mothers, sisters, and friends. We are not trying to take power from them—we are trying to support them.”
On the award she received at the event, she described it as an honour for collective attempt in the advancement of women’s health and economic wellbeing, thanking the organisers for the recognition.
She added: “I am deeply humbled to receive this prestigious Women Icon Leader of the Year 2025 award. I accept this honour not just as a personal recognition, but as a testament to the tireless efforts of countless women and men who have worked alongside me to promote good health and economic development for women in Nigeria and beyond.”
