Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the purchase of the N100 million All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination forms by nomadic Fulani pastoralists and Almajiri communities was an insult to his person.
Jonathan, who said the forms were bought without his consent, has therefore rejected them.
The ex-president made this known in a statement on Monday by his Media Adviser, Mr Ikechukwu Eze, hours after the said groups purchased the forms.
The statement said, “It has come to our notice that a group has purportedly purchased Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination forms of the APC in the name of former President Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
“We wish to categorically state that Dr Jonathan was not aware of this bid and did not authorise it.
“We want to state that if the former president wanted to contest an election, he would make his intentions clear to the public and will not enter through the back door.”
Jonathan, however, expressed appreciation for the overwhelming request to contest for the 2023 presidential election, though he said he had not committed himself to the request.
The statement added, “Buying a presidential aspiration form in the name Dr Jonathan without his consent, knowing the position he had held in this country, is considered an insult to his person.
“The general public is therefore advised to disregard it.”
The nomadic Fulani pastoralists and Almajiri communities, led by Malam Ibrahim Abdullahi, had told newsmen after picking the forms that Jonathan should be re-elected to enable him complete what he began.
Abdullahi said, “My name is Ibrahim Abdullahi, I represent two of the most vulnerable communities in our country, the nomadic pastoralists and the almajiri communities.
“We have decided to purchase this form for our former president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to come back and rule this country and continue with the good work he started.”
The group also described him as the first president since Nigeria’s independence in 1960 to remember the Almajiri community.