Pat Utomi – a political ally of Peter Obi, says the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party have agreed to form a new party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Utomi, who disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television, said he has reached out to Atiku, Kwankwaso, Obi and other top politicians on the need to form the merger party, which they have all agreed to.
Asked on his ideas that will shape Nigeria in the 2027 election and the likely emergence of the new party, the Delta-born Utomi said : “I’m not even thinking of 2027. That’s what I’m saying, Nigeria has become a circus of elections. Let’s leave elections for now. Let’s look at how our country can be made to work for everybody. And let’s create a political party that can bring the issues to the fore for all the Nigerian people to have the kind of consensus on how to solve problems.
“If we have that consensus, we will find Nigerians who can provide leadership positions and the provision of those positions will not be about what they get for themselves because this narcissism is a cancer that is tearing Nigerian politics down.
“What we need are people who sacrificially give up themselves to build a great country with their possible reward being immortality. When I talked to several of the presidential candidates in the last run about this track we are travelling. Yes, I’ve had conversations with Atiku Abubakar, I’ve had conversations with Engineer Rabiu Kwankwaso, I have had conversations with Peter Gregory Obi and the people like Ralph Okey Nwosu of ADC are some of those that would probably constitute some of the base.
“And I’ve said to them, it’s not about you. It’s about Nigeria, it’s about the ordinary person in this state. It’s about really truly moving from this business of sharing trickles from oil sales to how we can become one of the most productive economies because our (natural) endowments allow that but our politics has not allowed Nigerian people to produce. Politicians just go there to grab, grab, grab.
“They don’t even have the discipline to sit down and plan how Nigeria can produce its way out of poverty and everybody can be happy. Look at how it is happening in India. As you know, I have very good relations with India. There are friends of mine in India who are struggling to get me to come and sit in India for a few months in the university and do this, do that. But I just feel so what’s wrong with the Nigerian elite? Why are we satisfied with nothing? And then they will try and rationalize it by saying now I’m talking theory, what nonsense, what nonsense, how many of them have had the kind of jobs that I have had as an executive, as a manager, as an entrepreneur? And you say I’m talking theory. Do you know that there is no practice, that makes sense without theory?
When asked if Atiku, Kwankwaso, Obi, Okey Nwosu and the rest have agreed to come together, Utomi said “Yes. We’re not talking about names yet. Besides these politicians, I mentioned, I’m talking about leaders of social movements, leaders of social movements, the labour movement and so on and so forth.
I have even been part of creating a new tribe, Nigerians who are committed to certain values who say I will not give a bribe, I will not take a bribe. And you can then create a set of values that can lead to progress in the country.
The way we are today, a few people in the world are willing to engage with Nigeria because they think there’s a collapse of culture, the values in Nigeria. You can’t trust Nigerians, all kinds of things are here.”
