Political economist Prof. Pat Utomi would quit supporting the former Anambra State governor if he runs for vice president.
Utomi promised Channels Television last night that the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate will run in 2027 after his formal defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday.
According to Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo, Obi has already accepted to run as Atiku Abubakar’s vice presidential candidate on the ADC ticket in 2027. Utomi emphatically denied this.
I can confirm that Peter Obi will run for president. I leave his corner when he becomes VP. On the broadcast, Prof. Utomi affirmed so for sure.
Prof. Utomi also advocated for presidential and governorship candidates for Nigerians under 70 in the same interview.
He called the former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu administrations “government in absentia,” saying the Nigerian presidency has become a “retirement home.”
This election should be remembered because the Nigerian presidency has become a retirement home where the state pays medical bills. Not acceptable. Their fitness is insufficient for national leadership. Last one and present one have been government-in-absentia leaders.”
“I, Pat Utomi, am insisting that I will canvass the Nigerian people that nobody over 70 should run for an executive position, whether governor or president,” he said.
‘Rescue journey’
On Wednesday in Enugu, Peter Obi, who placed third in the last presidential election with almost 6 million votes, announced his defection to the ADC.
Obi said his switch to the ADC was the start of a journey to save the country from the ruling All Progressives Congress in his speech.
“Today is an important day; today is the last day of 2025, so we are ending this year with the hope that, in 2026, we will begin a journey to rescue our country and set it on the path of proper socio-economic development that will be unifying and inclusive,” Obi
He added: “We have all watched as those who benefited from our democracy have become accessories to destroying it, either through coercion or gangsterism against the opposition. This must not happen; we will resist.”
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