‘99.9% of Northerners don’t know Peter Obi’ — APC campaign council member

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Danbature Abdul-Hamid, has claimed that 99.9 per cent of people in Northern Nigeria do not know former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.

Abdul-Hamid made the assertion during a discussion on News Central TV while defending President Bola Tinubu’s grassroots support in the North ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

“Majority, majority, 99.9 per cent of Northern Nigerians don’t even know who Peter Obi is,” he said during the programme.

The APC chieftain further claimed that Nigerian footballer Michael Obi was more popular than the former Anambra State governor in the region.

When asked to clarify whether he meant the footballer was better known than the politician, Abdul-Hamid maintained his position.

“Yes, yes,” he responded, reiterating his claim about Obi’s level of recognition in the North.

He made the comments while countering suggestions that Tinubu’s political support in the region depended largely on Northern governors.

Abdul-Hamid argued that Northern Nigeria was too large for its political dynamics to be assessed based on activities in a few cities, including Kaduna, Abuja and Nasarawa.

“When you are talking of Northern Nigeria, it’s not only being in Kaduna, Abuja or Nasarawa. Northern Nigeria is very, very large and big,” he said.

According to him, Tinubu has an established political network that extends beyond elected officials to grassroots campaign structures across the region.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a grassroots politician. He’s not this kind of politician that you think he will only deal with the governors,” Abdul-Hamid said.

He also disclosed that he and other campaign coordinators at local government and state levels attended a recent political gathering, arguing that the President’s support structure was broader than the presence of governors at the event might suggest.

During the discussion, Abdul-Hamid expressed confidence in Tinubu’s chances ahead of the 2027 general election, going as far as suggesting that the President would face no serious opposition.

“That was the reason why, to us, in 2027, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming out unopposed,” he said.

His remarks came amid political discussions over the strength of parties and potential contenders ahead of the next presidential election.

Abdul-Hamid also criticised previous administrations, particularly those of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that they failed to deliver sufficient industrial development in Northern Nigeria.

He argued that the Tinubu administration was pursuing projects and establishing agencies intended to address some of the country’s economic challenges.

The APC campaign council member cited energy infrastructure projects, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, as examples of developments he believed deserved attention.