The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said that Peter Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election was largely driven by three key demographic factors, which he believes will not hold in the 2027 poll.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on Sunday, Keyamo argued that Obi’s appeal was largely circumstantial and unlikely to translate into long-term political gains—especially in northern Nigeria.
“Three demographic factors delivered Peter Obi in 2023, but the three will collapse,” Keyamo said.
According to him, the first major factor was religious sentiment, and the second factor was ethnic solidarity from the South-East.
“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.”
The third factor, he noted, was the emergence of a youth-driven movement.
He said, “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).”
Keyamo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, argued that none of these factors would be enough to guarantee Obi’s success in a future election, especially if he were to run alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
He said, “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.”
He dismissed the chances of the proposed alliance gaining ground in northern Nigeria, where, he said, the ruling APC has strong structures and control.
“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 declared.
He added, “They are going nowhere in terms of demography. 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.”
