Professor Pat Utomi, a political economist and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said he is more qualified than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leading political figures to lead Nigeria in the 2027 presidential election. Utomi made the remarks during an appearance on the television programme Politics Today on Sunday.
Utomi said his preparation and sustained engagement in politics since 2007 positioned him as better equipped for national leadership than both Tinubu and other prominent aspirants, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi. “Has it ever occurred to you that I am more qualified than all of them (Atiku, Obi), including Bola Tinubu, in terms of preparation to lead Nigeria,” Utomi said. “To be totally honest, I have never left the ADC since 2007.”
Utomi recalled the early coalition-building efforts undertaken by the ADC after the 2007 elections, noting that those engagements once brought together figures now spread across different political camps, including the ruling party. He said inclusive political engagement was essential for national progress.
He also downplayed the significance of the ongoing wave of defections of state governors into the All Progressives Congress (APC), arguing that such moves would not automatically translate into electoral victories for the ruling party in 2027. “Now, the truth of the matter is this,” Utomi said, “check how many APC governors actually won their states in the last election. Very few.”
Utomi linked his remarks to broader concerns about Nigeria’s democratic and governance challenges, suggesting that without urgent reforms, continued democratic decline could have severe consequences. He warned against attempts to rig the electoral process and emphasised the need for credibility and fairness in the 2027 race.
His comments come amid intensifying debate within the ADC and across Nigeria’s opposition landscape over coalition strategies and leadership ahead of the 2027 polls. Two weeks earlier, another ADC chieftain and former presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, publicly criticised Utomi’s remarks for potentially undermining democratic choice within opposition ranks.
Momodu said that insisting Peter Obi could not run was “not a democrat who wishes to rescue Nigeria from one-man dictatorship.”
The debate over leadership and coalition strategies reflects wider discussions among opposition figures on how to present a united front against the ruling APC as the 2027 general election approaches.
