Utomi: I Will Withdraw Support If Obi Accepts VP Slot

Political economist Prof. Pat Utomi has said he would stop supporting Peter Obi if the former Anambra State governor agrees to run as a vice-presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.

Utomi made the statement on Thursday during an appearance on *Politics Today* on Channels Television. He dismissed claims by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, that Obi had agreed to run as a vice-presidential candidate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

“I can tell you that Peter Obi will contest for the presidency. The day he becomes somebody’s vice president, I walk away from his corner. I can tell you that for a fact,” Utomi said.

Obi was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election. Utomi said Obi’s recent defection to the ADC does not alter his intention to contest for the presidency in 2027.

In the same interview, Utomi argued for an age limit for executive offices in Nigeria, saying no one above 70 years should be allowed to contest for president or governor.

He criticised recent administrations, describing the presidency as increasingly detached from active governance. According to him, the office has become a “retirement home” rather than a centre of effective leadership.

“The Nigerian presidency has become a retirement home where people go for the state to pay their medical bills. They don’t have the fitness to run the country. The last one, and the current one, have essentially been government-in-absentia leaders,” he said.

Utomi said he would campaign to persuade Nigerians to support reforms that restrict executive offices to candidates aged 70 and below.

Peter Obi officially announced his defection to the African Democratic Congress on Wednesday at an event in Enugu, alongside other political leaders from the South-East.

Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential election with over six million votes, said his move to the ADC marked the beginning of a renewed political effort to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress.

“Today is an important day; today is the last day of 2025. We are ending this year with the hope that in 2026 we will begin a journey to rescue our country and set it on the path of proper socio-economic development that will be unifying and inclusive,” Obi said.

He added that those in power had gradually undermined Nigeria’s democracy and pledged to resist actions aimed at weakening the opposition.