Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has rejected a presidential nomination form, saying it was bought without his consent.

The form was for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that defeated Mr Jonathan in 2015 after he had been in power for five years.

 A supporters’ group bought the nomination form on his behalf on Monday, continuing the trend of aspirants using proxies to purchase the form.

But a statement by the former president’s spokesman said Mr Jonathan “was not aware of this bid and did not authorize it”.

“We want to state that if the former president wanted to contest an election, he would make his intentions clear to the public and will not enter through the back door,” it said.

Nigeria’s main political parties are expected to hold their primaries later this month to meet the election commission’s dateline of 3 June for the submission of their candidates for the February 2023 election.

It costs 100m naira (about $240,000; £195,000) to purchase the APC’s nomination papers.

Whoever gets the APC’s nomination for the election will expect a stiff contest from the PDP.

Its aspiring candidates such as Peter Obi, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike are hugely popular, especially in southern Nigeria.