‘I may not contest presidency again after 2027’ — Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said he is unlikely to contest the presidency after the 2027 general election.

Obi made the disclosure during an interview with media personality Rufai Oseni, citing Nigeria’s informal zoning arrangement, which traditionally alternates the presidency between the northern and southern regions.

The former Anambra State governor said his decision would depend on the political realities after the 2027 election, adding that he did not want his comments to be misinterpreted.

“For me, it depends on what happens. I don’t want to say it because people might think that I’m saying it because of some people,” Obi said.

He recalled a previous conversation with a secondary school student in which he explained that if he failed to secure the presidency in 2027, the position would likely return to the North in 2031 based on the zoning arrangement.

“I said because if I don’t run now, by the next time it comes, believing in the zoning formula, it will go to the North,” he said.

Obi explained that if the presidency moves to the North in 2031, the next opportunity for a southern candidate would likely come years later, by which time he would be 78.

“If it goes North in 2031, by the time it comes again to the South, I will be 78 years old, and I don’t think I would be doing this at that age,” he said.

He, however, noted that he could reconsider his decision if the presidency remains in the South after the 2027 election, though he described such a possibility as unlikely.

“If it’s still in the South in the next election, maybe, but the probability is very slim. I don’t know until after the 2027 election,” Obi said.