2027: Atiku-Obi alliance dead on arrival – Keyamo

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has dismissed the possibility of a successful presidential ticket between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2027, saying the strategy is bound to fail.

Keyamo, speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said the much-touted opposition alliance is a nonstarter, especially if Obi is not the leading candidate.

“They are going nowhere in terms of demography,” Keyamo stated bluntly. “I like the noise they’re making. It puts us on our toes. But the numbers are not looking good for them.”

He added that talk of uniting Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to defeat APC’s over 8 million votes in 2023 is politically naïve.

“Three factors delivered Obi in 2023—religion, ethnicity, and youth anger. All three will collapse if he runs as Atiku’s running mate,” the minister said.

Keyamo explained that Obi’s support base in 2023 came from being the only major Christian among Muslim contenders, from Igbo support in the South-East, and from young Nigerians who were desperate for change and saw Obi as a younger alternative.

“All of that disappears once you make Obi second fiddle,” he said.

Keyamo also boasted of the APC’s stronghold in the North, insisting that the ruling party remains deeply rooted in the region.

“If you put Obi forward now as presidential candidate, he won’t make a dent in the North. We have governors, we have structures. The North is solidly APC,” he declared.

The senior lawyer and politician dismissed the ADC coalition talk as wishful thinking, stressing that the APC remains focused on governance and ready for any challenge in 2027.