By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, on Friday met with former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in Abuja, where 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, according to a statement from Hayatu-Deen’s media office, was a re-union 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 Privatization 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 two men have held each other in the highest regard since those years of working together.
Hayatu-Deen, a renowned economist and banker whose career spanning both the public and private sectors has contributed to the creation of millions of jobs across the country, called on the former President to formally inform him of his decision to run for the nation’s presidency on the platform of the ADC. He had collected his presidential nomination form from the party’s national secretariat the previous evening.
During the visit, Hayatu-Deen saluted President 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.
Jonathan warmly received him and extended his best wishes for the endeavour ahead.
Hayatu-Deen, according to the statement from his media office, would bring a lifetime of distinguished public and private sector service to the Presidency.
“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”, the statement said.
