Obi will lose his support base if he becomes Atiku’s running mate, says Keyamo

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, says the factors that earned Peter Obi millions of votes in 2023 will collapse if he ends up as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2027.

Abubakar and Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) platforms respectively, but both lost to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Tinubu won with 8,794,726 votes, Atiku polled 6,984,520, while Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Keyamo said the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition adopted by the opposition will have no electoral impact.

The minister said the coalition’s strategy of uniting the former Anambra governor with ex-vice president Abubakar to puncture the APC’s vote bank is unrealistic.

“They (ADC) are going nowhere in terms of demography,” Keyamo said.

“I like what is happening; they are putting us on our toes. It is going to make us work harder, but the numbers are not looking good for them.

“This so-called ADC, in 2027, what they are working on is to bring Peter Obi and Atiku together to join those numbers and beat our over eight million votes.

“Let me tell you why it is wrong. If you make Peter Obi the deputy to Atiku… three demographic factors delivered Peter Obi in 2023, but the three will collapse.

“The other candidates were Muslims, and so there was only one Christian candidate, and the Christians went to one candidate.

“The south-east felt cheated, so the south-east went to one point because of the Igbo man.

“And the third demography: the Obidients, young Nigerians who felt they were angry, they wanted a younger person and all of that because the other candidates were older than him (Obi).”

The minister also said Obi would struggle to garner votes in the north, claiming that the APC’s dominance in the region remains unshaken.

“If you put Peter Obi this time as president, he cannot penetrate the north. We have our structures in the north. We have governors, senators in the north,” Keyamo added.

Obi, who previously dismissed claims of being offered the running mate role ahead of the poll, has maintained his commitment to serving only one term if elected president.