I won’t run for president in 2019 – Jonathan

Former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has denied reports that he would contest the 2019 presidential election.

There were reports that Jonathan who left office last year following his defeat by President Muhammadu Buhari in the March 28, 2015 presidential election, was under pressure to return to power.

Vanguard newspaper quoted Ikechukwu Eze, media aide to Mr. Jonathan as saying in a statement that his principal had no plan to contest the 2019 presidential poll.

Mr. Eze said the former president did not at anytime declare an intention to contest, describing it as mere “fabrication.”

The statement said “Our attention has just been drawn to a fabricated online publication alleging that the former President Goodluck Jonathan made comments on the 2019 elections, while hosting his kinsmen in Otuoke last Tuesday.

“Those reports are false and bear no truth whatsoever. The former President was not in Otuoke on Tuesday, neither did he make the comments attributed to him. In fact, he has only just returned to his community to spend Christmas having been away for two weeks, so he could not have been hosting anyone there last Tuesday.

“Of what good is it to our national development efforts if some people spend so much energy spreading falsehood about fellow citizens and our nation?

The statement also said the former president wished “his fellow compatriots a merry Christmas and prosperous New Year in advance, and advises all to always channel their efforts towards working to attain the nation of our collective dreams.”

Jonathan, who was a candidate of the People Democratic Party lost to Mr. Buhari, the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress.

Buhari won 15.4 million votes against Mr. Jonathan’s 13.3 million.