•Jonathan and Hayatu-Deen
Barely 48 hours after intense calls for his return to Presidency, Dr Goodluck Jonathan played host to the Presidential aspirant on the platform of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen at his Abuja residence.
Jonathan had assured a mammoth crowd that urged him to throw his hat into the presidency race, that he would consult widely and revert at the appropriate time, reports Saturday Guardian.
He lost a second bid to late former President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 general elections .
Deen’s media office said in a statement that both men held discussions on the state of the nation and the outlook for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
“The meeting, which held behind closed doors, was a reunion of two men with a long history of collaboration in public service. When Jonathan served as vice president, Hayatu-Deen was a member of the National Council on Privatisation and chaired the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
He subsequently served on the Presidential Advisory Committee during Jonathan’s tenure as acting president and later as president,” the statement read.
“The two men have held each other in the highest regard since those years of working together.”
His media office described him as a “renowned economist, banker with a spanning career in both the public and private sectors that contributed to the creation of millions of jobs across the country, called on the former President to formally inform him of his decision to seek the presidency on the platform of the ADC.
“He had collected his presidential nomination form from the party’s national secretariat the previous evening.”
According to the statement, Hayatu-Deen saluted Jonathan’s statesmanly role across the African continent, where the former President continues to be a prominent voice for the deepening of democracy and the strengthening of electoral integrity.
The former president warmly received him and extended his best wishes for the endeavour ahead.
“Hayatu-Deen would bring a lifetime of distinguished public and private sector service to the Presidency,” the statement added.
“It is this experience, across a 40-year career of creating jobs and turning around organisations, that means he can end insecurity, reduce the cost of living and create new employment opportunities for all Nigerians.”
