Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, senior pastor of the influential Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), has publicly questioned the electoral viability of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi in Nigeria’s northern region ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a recent interview with Outside the Box, Ashimolowo stated that Obi would be unlikely to secure significant support in the country’s northern states, citing deep-seated national divisions.
“The chance of Peter Obi getting five per cent in 12 core Northern states will be a miracle because Nigeria has not healed,” Ashimolowo remarked. “He is a fantastic man, he is a gifted man, he could do well, he could achieve, he has proven himself, but he can’t win 5 per cent in the north.”
Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, finished third in the election behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Despite the result, he garnered a passionate following among youth and urban voters nationwide, with supporters known as the “Obidients”.maintaining that he remains a formidable contender for 2027.
Ashimolowo’s comments have drawn attention to the enduring regional and ethnic dimensions of Nigerian politics, which continue to shape electoral outcomes.
