Peter Obi Shuts Down 2031 Ambition: “Probability Is Very Slim”

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said the chances of him contesting the presidency again in 2031 are slim, citing Nigeria’s informal zoning arrangement and his age.

Naija News reports that Obi said the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South would be a major factor in determining whether he would make another attempt after the 2027 general election.

The former Anambra State governor stated this during an interview with media personality Rufai Oseni.

Asked whether he would contest again if he failed to win the 2027 presidential election, Obi said his decision would depend on the political circumstances after the poll.

“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,” he said.

Obi recalled a recent encounter with a secondary school pupil who asked whether he intended to contest again after 2027.

He further stated, “You will not believe it, this morning a secondary school boy asked me a question, ‘If you run this time, will you run again?’ And I said no. He asked why?

“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 explained that if the presidency shifted to the North in 2031 and remained there for two terms, he would be 78 by the time the position was expected to return to the South.

“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 added.

Obi, however, did not completely rule out another presidential bid.

He said he could reconsider his position if the presidency remained in the South after the 2027 election, although he described that possibility as unlikely.

Peter Obi added, “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 outcome of the 2027 election.”