{"id":8645,"date":"2026-01-02T08:32:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T08:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=8645"},"modified":"2026-01-02T08:32:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T08:32:37","slug":"utomi-vows-to-drop-support-for-obi-if-he-runs-as-vice-president-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/utomi-vows-to-drop-support-for-obi-if-he-runs-as-vice-president-in-2027\/","title":{"rendered":"Utomi Vows to Drop Support for Obi If He Runs as Vice President in 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renowned political economist Professor Pat Utomi<\/strong> has declared that he will withdraw his support for Peter Obi<\/strong> if the former Anambra State governor accepts a vice-presidential slot in the 2027 general election<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Utomi made the statement on Thursday during a national television interview where he discussed Nigeria\u2019s political future and emerging alignments ahead of the next election cycle.<\/p>\n

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Values and Leadership (CVL)<\/strong> insisted that Obi remains firmly positioned to contest for the presidency and not as a running mate to any candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cObi Will Contest for President\u201d \u2014 Utomi<\/h3>\n

Reacting to speculation following Obi\u2019s recent defection from the Labour Party (LP)<\/strong> to the African Democratic Congress (ADC)<\/strong>, Utomi dismissed suggestions that the move was to support another aspirant, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar<\/strong>, who is believed to wield influence within the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you that Peter Obi will contest for the presidency. The day he becomes somebody\u2019s vice president, I walk away from his corner,\u201d Utomi said.<\/p>\n

Obi\u2019s defection on December 31<\/strong> has sparked widespread political debate, with analysts interpreting the ADC as a possible coalition platform ahead of 2027.<\/p>\n

Calls for Age Limits in Nigerian Politics<\/h3>\n

Utomi also called for constitutional limits on the age of presidential and gubernatorial candidates, proposing that Nigerians above 70 years<\/strong> should be barred from contesting executive offices.<\/p>\n

He criticised successive administrations, describing recent leadership as \u201cgovernment in absentia,\u201d and argued that the presidency should not serve as a retirement destination for ageing politicians.<\/p>\n

According to him, Nigeria requires physically and mentally fit leadership to address its complex challenges.<\/p>\n

Obidient Movement Pledges Loyalty to ADC Process<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, Tanko Yunusa<\/strong>, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide<\/strong>, said the movement would remain within the ADC and respect the outcome of the party\u2019s presidential primary, even if Atiku Abubakar emerges as the flagbearer.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the same programme, Yunusa said the movement is committed to democratic processes and believes Obi would prevail at the primaries based on popular support.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs democrats, we will compete fairly within the ADC. We believe Peter Obi will emerge victorious because of the massive support he brings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

ADC Gains Momentum After Obi\u2019s Entry<\/h3>\n

Yunusa credited Obi\u2019s entry into the ADC for energising the party nationwide, describing it as a political \u201cvehicle\u201d that gained momentum following his defection.<\/p>\n

He said millions of Obi\u2019s supporters, largely youth-driven and reform-minded, are ready to move into the ADC, demanding good governance, accountability, and clarity in leadership.<\/p>\n

He also accused the current administration of using what he termed \u201cnegative executive power\u201d against citizens, urging Nigerians to reclaim democratic space through peaceful political participation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renowned political economist Professor Pat Utomi has declared that he will withdraw his support for Peter Obi if the former Anambra State governor accepts a vice-presidential slot in the 2027 general election. Utomi made the statement on Thursday during a national television interview where he discussed Nigeria\u2019s political future and emerging alignments ahead of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Pat Utomi vows to withdraw support if Peter Obi runs as vice president in 2027 election.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8650,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8645\/revisions\/8650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}