Policy strategist and Group Chief Executive Officer of Global Investment and Trade Company, Baba Yusuf, has expressed doubts over the chances of a joint presidential ambition involving Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 general election.
Yusuf stated that although both politicians command large followings across parts of the country, they may struggle to secure the constitutional spread required to win the presidency.
He made the remarks on Friday during an interview on Prime Time aired by Arise Television.
His comments come days after Obi and Kwankwaso reportedly dumped the African Democratic Congress for the Nigerian Democratic Congress. The two politicians were said to have cited internal disputes and lingering court cases within the ADC as reasons for their exit.
Speaking during the interview, Yusuf argued that voter numbers alone would not be enough to secure victory in a presidential election as sensitive and competitive as that of 2027.
“If you look at the spread of Peter Obi with profound respect to him and Kwankwaso, they won’t be able to win the presidency,” he said.
According to him, the duo could attract a significant number of voters, especially among Nigerians who did not participate in the 2023 elections, but still face major challenges in achieving nationwide acceptance.
“They may be able to get numbers of about 70 million voters that didn’t vote in 2023 which I reckon people will come out and vote.
“But will those numbers have the spread across the North and Southern Nigeria to give them the constitutional requirement to win the election as Peter Obi and Kwankwaso? I expect a lot of consultations and negotiations that will lead to that,” Yusuf stated.
The policy strategist further stressed that coalition politics and negotiations would play a major role ahead of the next presidential contest.
He warned against what he described as a “me me” attitude among opposition figures, insisting that no single political bloc may be strong enough to defeat an incumbent structure without broader alliances.
“The ‘me me’ attitude will not cut it. And I expect maybe Peter Obi and Kwankwaso to sit down with an elder statesman like Atiku Abubakar to say, look, how are we going to share this power?
“It’s a negotiation, but when you come with this attitude of ‘we don’t need you’, it will not yield any positive result,” Yusuf added.