Media entrepreneur and veteran journalist Dele Momodu has revealed that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, turned down his counsel to align with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, insisting he was the more popular of the two.
Momodu made the disclosure during an appearance on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, recounting a conversation in which he urged Obi to consider working under Atiku rather than pursuing an independent presidential bid.
“I told Peter, why don’t you go and work with Atiku. Atiku was the person who brought him to national prominence,” Momodu said.
He reminded Obi that Atiku had defied opposition from PDP governors to select him as his running mate ahead of the 2019 presidential election. “When Atiku picked Peter, the governors were angry, but one thing about Atiku is that once he makes up his mind, he’s a very focused man,” Momodu added.
To buttress his advice, Momodu drew on the political trajectories of leaders who rose to the presidency after first serving as deputies. He cited Ghana’s John Mahama, Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan, and former United States President Joe Biden — all of whom, he noted, used vice-presidential platforms to eventually ascend to their countries’ highest offices.
“I said if Mahama was not a VP to Prof Atta Mills, maybe he would never be President of Ghana because he came from a minority, just like Jonathan in Nigeria. Even Joe Biden, who was much older than Obama, still came back to become president because you’re able to demonstrate your capacity,” he said.
Obi, however, was unmoved. According to Momodu, the former Anambra governor dismissed the comparisons, telling him flatly that he commanded a broader following than Atiku.
“Peter told me he’s more popular than Atiku,” Momodu said.
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