Former President Goodluck Jonathan has cautioned politicians against using political ambition as a cover for electoral malpractice, insisting that political contests must be conducted within established rules.
Jonathan spoke on Thursday at a public lecture held in Abuja to mark the 80th birthday of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi.
He warned that many politicians resort to rigging and other forms of misconduct while defending their actions as legitimate political strategy, stressing that such conduct amounts to criminality rather than politics.
Comparing the political process to a football match, Jonathan said contests must be played according to agreed rules, noting that courts step in specifically to check violations of those rules.
The former president also argued that Nigeria’s anti-corruption drive cannot succeed through legislation and enforcement agencies alone, calling for a broader societal shift toward ethical values and a rejection of wrongdoing.
Separately, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, credited Jonathan’s decision to concede the 2015 presidential election — made before final results were declared — with preserving Nigeria’s democracy at a critical moment.
Usman made the remarks on the sidelines of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, describing the concession as an unprecedented act in Nigeria’s political history.
She said Jonathan had long maintained that no election was worth Nigerian lives, and that his 2015 concession proved the sincerity of that stance. Usman urged politicians eyeing the 2027 presidency to prioritise the country’s interest over personal ambition, invoking a Warren Buffett quote on generational sacrifice.
She also questioned whether current presidential aspirants would be willing to make similar sacrifices, citing what she called rising inflammatory rhetoric across party camps.
On the Labour Party’s standing ahead of the next general elections, Usman described it as Nigeria’s most organised opposition platform, pointing to its alliance with the NLC and TUC as giving it a strong position to challenge the ruling APC.
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