Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, says he will withdraw his support for Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), if the ex-governor of Anambra accepts a vice-presidential candidacy for the 2027 elections.
Utomi spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels
Television’s Politics Today programme.
His comments came a day after Obi announced in Enugu that he
had formally defected from the LP to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
At the event, Obi said his move to the ADC signalled the
start of a mission to “rescue our country and set it on the path of proper
socio-economic development.”
The defection has drawn reactions from his supporters and
critics, including Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, who raised concerns
about zoning and the presence of Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, in the
party.
Speaking on Politics Today, Utomi insisted that Obi would
contest the presidency and threatened to walk away if anything otherwise
happens.
“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,” he said.
While noting that the presidency has been reduced to a
retirement home, Utomi said the age limit for presidential candidates should be
pegged at 70 years.
“Something important about this election to bear in mind is
that the Nigerian presidency has become a retirement home where people go for
the Nigerian state to pay their medical bills. It is not acceptable,” he said.
“They don’t have the fitness to run the country. The last
one, and the current one, have essentially been government-in-absentia
leaders.”
“I, Pat Utomi, am insisting that I will canvass to the
Nigerian people that nobody over the age of 70 should run for an executive
position, whether it be governor or president.”
Utomi was present on Wednesday in Enugu during the formal
defection of the former Anambra governor.
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