Former presidential candidate and media entrepreneur, Chief Dele Momodu, has claimed that Peter Obi turned down advice to align politically with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting he was more popular than the former vice president.
Momodu made the revelation during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, where he discussed his conversations with Obi about the possibility of working with Atiku.
According to him, he personally advised the former Anambra State governor to consider a political partnership with Atiku, noting that the former vice president played a key role in Obi’s rise to national prominence.
“I told Peter, why don’t you go and work with Atiku. Atiku was the person who brought him to national prominence,” Momodu said.
He added that Atiku’s decision to choose Obi as his running mate in the 2019 presidential election was initially controversial within the PDP, with some party governors expressing dissatisfaction.
“When Atiku picked Peter, the governors were angry, but one thing about Atiku is that once he makes up his mind, he is a very focused man,” he said.
Momodu said he further tried to persuade Obi by citing examples of political figures who rose from deputy positions to become presidents.
“I told Peter… try and work with this man (Atiku), then I gave him copious examples. I mentioned Mahama in Ghana, Jonathan in Nigeria, and even Joe Biden in the United States,” he explained.
However, Momodu said Obi remained unconvinced.
“He told me he is more popular than Atiku,” Momodu added.
