I Will Leave Peter Obi’s Corner If He Accepts To Be Someone’s VP — Pat Utomi

“I Will Leave Peter Obi’s Corner If He Accepts To Be Someone’s VP - Pat Utomi”

On January 1, 2026, political economist Professor Pat Utomi made a strong declaration during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Utomi stated unequivocally that his support for Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, would end immediately if Obi ever agreed to serve as someone’s vice-presidential candidate.

He emphasized that Obi’s political trajectory is firmly set on contesting for the presidency in 2027, following his recent defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Utomi’s remarks were in direct response to claims by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, who alleged that Obi had already accepted to run as Atiku Abubakar’s vice-presidential candidate under the ADC ticket. Utomi dismissed this assertion as false, insisting that Obi’s ambition remains presidential and that any deviation from that path would cause him to withdraw his support. In his words: “The day he becomes somebody’s vice president, I walk away from his corner.”

Beyond Obi’s political future, Utomi used the interview to advocate for generational change in Nigeria’s leadership. He argued that presidential and gubernatorial candidates should be limited to Nigerians aged 70 and below.

According to him, the presidency has become a “retirement home” where leaders rely on state resources to cover medical bills, citing both former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Bola Tinubu as examples of “government-in-absentia” leadership. 

Utomi pledged to campaign vigorously against candidates above 70 years of age, insisting that Nigeria requires leaders with the fitness and energy to govern effectively.

Meanwhile, Peter Obi himself reinforced his commitment to a new political journey during his defection to the ADC in Enugu. He described the move as the beginning of a “rescue mission” aimed at liberating Nigeria from what he termed the destructive tendencies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). 

Obi lamented that those who have benefited from democracy have gradually become accessories to its destruction, employing coercion and gangsterism against the opposition. He vowed to resist such practices and promised to set Nigeria on a path of inclusive socio-economic development.

Obi, who secured over six million votes in the 2023 presidential election and finished third, now positions himself as a central figure in the ADC’s 2027 strategy. His defection marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s political landscape, with Utomi and other allies rallying behind him as a presidential hopeful.

The controversy surrounding claims of a vice-presidential role underscores the high stakes of Nigeria’s evolving political alliances, but Utomi’s firm stance signals that Obi’s supporters expect nothing less than a full presidential bid.

This episode highlights two key dynamics: Utomi’s uncompromising loyalty to Obi’s presidential ambition and his broader call for generational leadership renewal in Nigeria. It also underscores Obi’s determination to frame his ADC defection as a national rescue mission, setting the stage for what promises to be a fiercely contested 2027 election.