A coalition of Northern groups has bought the All Progressives Congress (APC) expression of interest and nomination forms for former President Goodluck Jonathan.
This is coming after months of speculations that Mr Jonathan would join the presidential race on the platform of the ruling party.
It is not clear if the former president will accept the forms.
Mr Jonathan was Nigeria’s president between 2010 and 2015 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
He lost power to the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari, who ran on the ticket of the APC.
In April, the former president told a group of supporters who visited him at his Abuja office that he had not decided whether to join the presidential race or not. He asked them to watch out for his next moves.
“Yes, you are calling me to come and declare for the 2023 presidency, yes I can’t tell you am declaring, the political process is ongoing, just watch out.
“But the key role you must play is to pray that Nigeria gets a president that will carry the young people along and work very hard to see that some of the country’s problems raised are dealt with.
“I believe that collectively, we can work together,’’ he said.
There is a raging debate over whether Mr Jonathan is eligible to run for president again having taken the oath of office twice as president.
While Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN said he cannot run, another senior lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, thinks otherwise.