Why Atiku/Obi Ticket Won’t Work in 2027
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has downplayed the viability of a potential Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi alliance under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Speaking on Channels Television’s *Sunday Politics*, Keyamo said the demographic forces that powered Obi’s 2023 campaign would collapse under such a joint ticket.
“They are going nowhere in terms of demography,” he said, arguing that while the opposition may energize political debate, their numbers are not strong enough to pose a real threat. He described the idea of an Atiku-Obi alliance as a miscalculation, suggesting it would fail to combine voter bases in a meaningful way.
“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.”
Keyamo pointed to the role of Christian voters, who supported Obi as the only major Christian candidate in 2023; South-Easterners who felt an Igbo presidency was due; and young, disillusioned voters, known as the “Obidients,” who were drawn to Obi’s outsider appeal and relative youth. He claimed these groups would lose enthusiasm if Obi runs as a vice-presidential candidate.
Keyamo also stressed the enduring strength of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly in the North. “If you put Peter Obi this time as president, he cannot penetrate the north. We have our structures in the north,” he said, asserting that the APC remains firmly entrenched across the region.
