Prof. Pat Utomi has vowed to withdraw his support for the 2023 Labour Party, LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi if he agrees to run as vice president in the upcoming presidential election slated for 2027.
The academic and rights activist spoke on Channels Television Politics Today, on Thursday bare two days after Obi officially joined the ADC from LP.
Obi, the magazine reports, led other south east leaders, including the LP caucus in the House of Representatives, led by Victor Ogene into the ADC during a ceremony in Enugu state.
Speaking after he decamped Obi said the mission to rescue Nigeria has commenced in earnest.
Some political analysts however insist that the former Anambra state governor has agreed to serve as vice presidential candidate under the party, a suggestion he had bluntly debunked.
Obi disclosed on Tuesday that he has come too far to be a second fiddle to any presidential candidate, saying he’s is the race for the Nigerian number one citizen job.
In 2019, Obi ran with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. New suggestions emerged that the duo may run together under a joint ticket in ADC, with Obi taking the position of a runner mate to Abubakar
Analysts of this particular school of thought insist that the former vice president is poised to secure the ADC Presidential candidate slot for the next election, saying some undercurrent strategies are ongoing in the party to ensure this happened.
But, Prof. Utomi, a staunch ally of the former governor would have none of that, it’s either Obi run as president or forget his support for him.
Utomi said those ruling the country have no capacity to do so, saying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari have disappointed Nigerians.
He said: “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.
“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.”
Utomi said past Nigerian leaders are not committed to its course, calling for a law to bar anyone above 70 from contesting the Presidency.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Dr Tanko Yinusa, a spokesman for Obi said on Thursday that his principal will not abandon the ADC if he loses the party’s presidential ticket to Abubakar.
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