Why Peter Obi cannot emerge president in 2027 — Kenneth Okonkwo

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has declared that Peter Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate, stands little chance of emerging president in the next cycle due to Nigeria’s entrenched power dynamics.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired Tuesday night, Okonkwo, who previously served as Obi’s spokesperson in the 2023 campaign, argued that only a northern political heavyweight can realistically unseat President Bola Tinubu.

“If you bring somebody from the Southeast, even if he wins, they will steal it from him,” Okonkwo stated.

He added that Obi, despite his third-place finish with over six million votes in 2023, lacked the establishment support necessary to protect his mandate.

“Peter Obi won the election in 2023, and they stole it from us,” Okonkwo insisted, a claim repeatedly denied by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Okonkwo, who officially exited the Labour Party in July 2024 over internal rifts, now believes the only path to victory in 2027 is through a strong, establishment-backed northern candidate.

“My strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027,” he declared. “If the whole North is willing to support Atiku, why not? Or Tambuwal? Or El-Rufai?”

He contended that pushing another Southern candidate against Tinubu — himself a Southerner — would only reinforce the incumbent’s hold on power.

“Anybody telling you to bring a fresh Southerner to compete against Tinubu, a Southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to Tinubu,” Okonkwo said.

The former Nollywood actor also took aim at Nigeria’s unwritten power rotation tradition, noting that while the South may feel entitled to complete a second term after Tinubu’s tenure, political realities dictate otherwise.

“Do you know the Southwest has never contested an election against an incumbent?” Okonkwo asked rhetorically.

“Because they know that in Nigeria, if you don’t have the establishment supporting you, even if you win, they will steal it from you.”

His remarks come amid growing momentum for an opposition grand alliance.

On July 2, 2025, leading political figures including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola adopted the ADC as a unifying platform to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

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