Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has denied that youth-led movements, such as Peter Obi’s 2023 Obidient movement, could jeopardize President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 reelection, arguing that they cannot take the place of the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) strong political structures.
“The Labour Party was built around him (Peter Obi) and the Obidient movement,” Keyamo contended in a Monday interview with Channels Television about the impact of mass movements. Even heroes like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe were unable to overcome the difficulties of Nigerian elections in the absence of frameworks.
In response to rumors that Obi’s Obidient movement might jeopardize Tinubu’s chances of winning reelection, he went on to ask, “Under what platform?” while highlighting how the APC’s established structures held up well in the 2023 elections in spite of the difficulties caused by the naira redesign policy and fuel shortage.
“Have you seen the results of the elections in 2023? The APC’s structures remained strong in spite of the naira redesign strategy and the gasoline shortage, which worked against our party. Keyamo continued, “It was like a house built on solid rock,” reaffirming his faith in the APC’s unwavering power.
According to reports, Keyamo also cited President Tinubu’s strong popularity in northern Nigeria, which he believes will be important in the next election.
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He stated that “President Tinubu has more friends in the North than in the South-West,” suggesting that this relationship will be crucial to ensuring the President’s reelection.
In a similar incident, Keyamo addressed Sheriff Oborevwori, the governor of Delta State, who recently defected to the APC, saying that he had given the governor leadership of the party in the state in an effort to fortify it even more.
“As long as we are bolstering APC further for Mr. President’s reelection, it doesn’t matter if I have to make sacrifices like we did yesterday when we gave up (party leadership in Delta),” Keyamo stated.
