Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has downplayed the prospects of a potential alliance between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi under the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 presidential election, arguing that such a ticket would fail demographically.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Keyamo asserted that the demographic factors that boosted Obi’s 2023 presidential bid would no longer apply if he runs as a deputy to Atiku.
“They are going nowhere in terms of demography,” Keyamo said of the opposition movement. “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.”
The minister specifically addressed the opposition’s strategy, stating, “This so-called ADC, in 2027, what they are working on is to bring Peter Obi and Atiku (Abubakar) 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.”
Keyamo elaborated on these demographic shifts, explaining, “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).”
He further argued that President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress maintain strong political structures in northern Nigeria, which would limit Obi’s influence in the region.
“If you put Peter Obi this time as president, he cannot penetrate the north. We have our structures in the north. We have governors and our structures in the north,” Keyamo said.
