A former chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Simon Okeke, has urged former vice-president Atiku Abubakar to back Peter Obi as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in the 2027 elections.
In a statement on Tuesday, Okeke called Obi the most widely accepted presidential candidate in Nigeria’s political history.
He admitted that Obi, like anyone, has flaws and may not be perfect in every way, but stressed that no other candidate has received as much acceptance as the former Anambra governor.
“Nonetheless, among all the presidential aspirants today, he is the most acceptable nationwide. At no time in the political history of Nigeria… has any candidate from any part of Nigeria enjoyed such a universal nationwide acceptance,” the statement reads.
He said Atiku now has a chance to return the support he received from the South East during his past presidential campaigns, including in 2023.
Okeke urged the former vice-president to step aside and throw his weight behind Obi, citing the political convention that the presidency should rotate to the south.
“One would expect that the 2027 contest will give Alhaji Atiku a good opportunity to reciprocate the same support he has progressively received from the South East by him not only withdrawing from the contest, which by convention is for Southern candidates to serve out balance of term of 4 years, but to throw his weight behind Peter Obi.”
“Failure to do this will portray him to be opposite of what we thought he is, a true friend of Ndigbo. He needs to show appreciation of our South East support for his several presidential bids,” he said.
The former PSC chairman also appealed to northerners and south westerners to support Obi’s candidacy on grounds of equity and justice.
He added that an Obi presidency would help “put the burden of the Nigeria-Biafra war behind us permanently.”
, Simon Okeke, has urged former vice-president Atiku Abubakar to back Peter Obi as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in the 2027 elections.){kind=link}