- The minister said proposed Atiku-Obi alliance is a tactic to exploit Obi’s popularity without genuinely offering him the presidential ticket.
- Keyamo described Obi as a “cult personality” who commands loyalty beyond what Atiku can muster politically.
The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, has said that former vice-president Atiku Abubakar cannot defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election, even with Peter Obi as his running mate.
Keyamo spoke on Monday during an interview on Prime Time, a programme aired on Arise Television.
He said Atiku no longer commands the political support he enjoyed in 2023 because he has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He explained that Atiku’s 6.9 million votes in the last election came from the PDP’s structure, which he abandoned.
Speaking on the proposed Atiku-Obi alliance, Keyamo said the coalition is aimed at combining their 2023 votes to surpass Tinubu’s 8.9 million tally.
“If you make Atiku the presidential candidate and Obi the vice-presidential candidate, what they are trying to do is merge those two votes to surpass our 8.9 million votes.
“But they don’t understand that the dynamics have changed,” he said.
“First of all, Atiku does not possess that 6.9 million votes. Obi is more of a cult personality than Atiku, so Atiku cannot take that 6.9 million votes away from PDP. It was the PDP structure that gave him that vote.”
Keyamo, who served as the spokesperson for the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign in 2023, noted that Atiku’s departure from PDP has stripped him of the support base that powered his last electoral outing.
“The structures of PDP that delivered those votes are intact — he (Atiku) left them behind. Those structures did not follow him,” Keyamo said.
“I will give him one million votes out of those 6.9 million. The rest are PDP votes. The governors, senators, house of representatives members — he didn’t take one away, except for that Sokoto governor following him.”
Reports suggest Atiku, who has now pitched his tent with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is working on an alliance with Obi’s Labour Party ahead of the 2027 election.
But Keyamo dismissed the proposed alliance, describing it as a political gimmick aimed at leveraging Obi’s popularity.
“Once Obi is his deputy, it would look like he’s hiding behind one finger because they are trying to get Obi’s vote without giving him the ticket,” he said.
“ADC is Atiku’s party, the earlier Obi knows that, the better.”
Obi, a former Anambra governor, has already declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku has yet to officially declare his ambition but has hinted at continued involvement in efforts to unseat the All Progressives Congress (APC).