Former First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan, has ruled out any return to the corridors of power in Aso Rock, instead throwing her full support behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.

 

Dame Jonathan, known for her forthrightness, made this declaration on Saturday night in Abuja while receiving the Women Icon Leader of the Year 2025 award from Accolade Dynamics Limited. She used the occasion to express her backing for the Tinubu administration and promote the principle of rotational leadership, describing the “turn-by-turn” model as essential to national unity.

 

“I’m not running. I’m not going back to the villa. If you call me, I will not go,” she stated emphatically, drawing laughter and applause from the audience. “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.”

 

Dame Jonathan reserved warm praise for the President’s daughter, Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, acknowledging her role in uniting and empowering women across the country. “All the way, we are with you. No shaking. We will follow. Direct us, and we will follow,” she declared.

 

Reflecting on her personal relationship with Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the former First Lady recalled their longstanding bond that dates back to their days as wives of deputy governors. “I didn’t just know her because she’s the First Lady. We worked together for years. Even during my husband’s first presidential run in 2011, she and her husband supported us,” she said. “I have a conscience. I cannot abandon my friend.”

 

Patience Jonathan also took the opportunity to endorse the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in leadership, urging the National Assembly to pass long-overdue gender equality bills. She lamented the continued sidelining of women in elective positions despite executive support in previous administrations.

 

“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,” she urged.

 

In accepting her award, she credited her NGO work with the Aurora Richard Foundation and the Women for Change and Development Initiative for the recognition, highlighting efforts in women’s health, skill acquisition, and support for critically ill children.

 

“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,” she said.

 

As Nigeria’s political landscape begins to heat up ahead of 2027, Patience Jonathan’s public alignment with the Tinubu administration signals a significant political endorsement and a call for unity among women leaders across party lines.