Nigeria’s Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has said former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, lacks the political structure and regional support to win elections in the country’s core northern states.
Musawa, a longtime supporter of former President Muhammadu Buhari, drew parallels between Obi’s current political movement and Buhari’s early presidential campaigns, which failed repeatedly between 2003 and 2011 due to insufficient national backing.
“In the core North, there is nothing Peter Obi can do that will deliver election victories,” Musawa said in an interview on Mic On with Seun Okinbaloye. “Peter Obi reminds me of Buhari during his early attempts.”
She explained that despite Buhari’s popularity in the North, electoral success eluded him until a strategic political alliance was forged with Bola Tinubu, which delivered crucial support from the South-West. “It was only when we built that bridge with Tinubu’s political machinery that we could win in 2015,” she said.
Musawa maintained that regional voting patterns remain deeply entrenched and dismissed the possibility of Obi reversing his fortunes in northern Nigeria. Peter Obi, however, remains popular among young voters and urban populations, particularly in the South and parts of the Middle Belt.
