Political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has declared he will withdraw his support for Peter Obi if the former Anambra State governor runs as a vice-presidential candidate in 2027.
Utomi dismissed claims by Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo that Obi had agreed to be Atiku Abubakar’s running mate under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), stating instead that Obi will contest for the presidency.
“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,” Utomi said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
In the same interview, Utomi also called for a constitutional age limit, arguing that no one over 70 should be eligible to run for president or governor.
He criticized the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Bola Tinubu, describing the presidency as having become a “retirement home” and their administrations as “government in absentia.”
“I am insisting that I will canvass to the Nigerian people that nobody over the age of 70 should run for an executive position,” he stated.
Utomi’s comments follow Peter Obi’s official defection to the ADC on Wednesday. In his speech, Obi framed the move as the start of a journey to “rescue” Nigeria from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and restore inclusive development.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
