Former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has alleged that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan offered Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential flag bearer, the position of Coordinating Minister of the Economy if he agrees to abandon his 2027 presidential ambition and support Jonathan’s bid.
Kachikwu made the claims during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, insisting that certain northern political interests have persuaded Jonathan to join the 2027 race as part of a calculated move to weaken southern political strength.
“In order to weaken the South, they have now drafted in former President Jonathan into the race, who is alleged to be offering Peter Obi the position of Coordinating Minister of the Economy for him to support his ambition,” Kachikwu told journalists.
According to him, Obi was also told that his chances of winning northern votes were slim because of his ethnic background as an Igbo man. Kachikwu claimed that the message to Obi was clear: he would never secure enough northern support and should instead settle for being former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s running mate.
The ADC chieftain further accused Atiku and a few northern elites of monopolizing political power for decades without addressing the persistent illiteracy and poverty in the region. He alleged that these elites have continued to exploit “weapons of region, religion, tongue, tribe, and poverty,” portraying southern leaders—especially President Bola Tinubu—as enemies of the North to sway the masses.
“On a daily basis they are spreading deliberate falsehoods against not only President Tinubu but against all potential southern aspirants for the Office of President,” Kachikwu alleged. “We must all come to equity with clean hands and sincerity of purpose. We don’t burn our houses because we want to kill rats and cockroaches; sometimes we just need to make our houses clean so that rats and cockroaches leave on their own.”
Kachikwu called on Nigerians to resist political manipulation, warning that those who do not believe in an equitable Nigeria must not be allowed to determine the nation’s future. “My earnest prayer is that Nigeria will soon work for every one of us,” he concluded.