Pat Utomi: I Wasn’t Aware Of Peter Obi’s ADC-to-NDC Move Until I Heard It Abroad
Professor Pat Utomi speaks on Obi’s defection to the NDC, says he only learned about the ADC-to-NDC move while abroad in Michigan.
Professor Pat Utomi speaks on Obi’s defection to the NDC, says he only learned about the ADC-to-NDC move while abroad in Michigan.
A former presidential candidate, activist, and scholar, Professor Pat Utomi, has revealed that he was unaware of Peter Obi’s move from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, (NDC), until he heard about it while abroad.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Prof. Utomi said he had strongly argued that members should remain in the ADC and fight from within, but acknowledged that concerns over alleged political manoeuvres may have influenced the decision to move quickly.
“I was out of the country when the move took place. I wasn’t aware of the plans to make the move. I had argued very stoutly that everybody should stay where they are, fight to prove a point that this can be won from this platform.
“But I was also quite aware of games that were being played—the games of the process—to really prevent a certain candidate from being on the ballot. A very undemocratic kind of game being played, and they had to play quick to escape being caught in the trap. And perhaps, with the benefit of hindsight, they were wise,” he said.
Utomi also suggested that, in retrospect, Peter Obi’s decision to leave the ADC appeared justified, especially following recent internal disputes within the party.
“With the benefit of hindsight, given what we’ve seen that just happened in the ADC with Richmond and others complaining, you know, and it was almost like a foregone conclusion that it would go in a particular direction. So, it was a pretty smart move on his part,” he maintained.
While noting that polling had indicated Obi could have emerged victorious through a transparent primary process, Prof. Utomi argued that the real challenge was whether party power brokers would allow a credible contest. According to him, primary elections across Nigerian political parties have increasingly become controlled by influential figures, reducing democratic processes to what he described as a “make-believe.”
“Even though we had polling that suggested he would defeat the other candidates within ADC. But the problem was not so much whether you had proper direct primaries, but if the main players would allow a proper process. Both the way the process has been managed generally across the board makes all the primary processes a complete farce. It doesn’t matter what party—they are all a farce of some sort. Party hierarchies and bosses are more or less imposing people, and they go through these processes as a make-believe of the democratic process,” he explained.
Reiterating his position, Utomi went on to explain that although he remains committed to the broader policy project, the focus has now shifted to the Big Tent initiative, which he described as a platform for developing a national manifesto and identifying credible candidates across party lines.
“What we have done is to continue this process within the Big Tent to do a manifesto for Nigeria, which we can get political actors socialized into. And those political actors who have the capacity, the competence, and disposition, who are willing to walk that path, we will endorse—even if they came from this party or that party. As the Big Tent, we would endorse such candidates.”
He also criticised what he called Nigeria’s tendency to undervalue talent, arguing that many leaders mistake repetition of long service for genuine experience, rather than meaningful growth or innovation.
“But what has happened, which is tragic for Nigeria in a way, is that in the age of the aristocracy of talent, Nigeria manages to keep depressing talent. Smart, capable people in our country, instead of being pushed buddy-buddy… the system somehow brings this silly argument that ‘This person has experience.’ What nonsense experience!
“That political process is full of people who have one year of experience repeated so many times, and they claim they have experience. And they stay in the way of talent, and it constricts Nigeria from progress. I feel that we must break that,” he insisted.
Calling for stronger regulations to curb political defections, the scholar urged INEC to take a firmer stance against frequent party switching, arguing that it undermines political accountability and weakens democratic development in Nigeria.
“Even in this process, we’ve seen characters jump from one party to another. Look, I don’t always agree with INEC, but this is one stance where I would like INEC to win and stop all these characters jumping from one party to the other because they have no experience. The only experience they have is preventing Nigeria from progress,” he stated.
Addressing the state of Nigeria’s opposition politics, Prof Utomi took issue with what he described as an unhealthy obsession with political office, arguing that it undermines unity and weakens efforts to present a strong alternative to the ruling party.
“This obsession with power and public office is a disease. Nigerian political actors need to be purged of it, really—treated for it,” he said.
Expressing concern over what he described as a troubling mindset among some Nigerian politicians, questioning whether they are genuinely committed to national progress or driven mainly by personal ambition and status.
“We need to bring Nigerian politicians to put them through some kind of psychiatric process. Let’s find out: do these people really care about their country? Do they care about their children and the children of their children? The way they let the ego goes forward prevent their country from making progress.
Despite this, the activist maintained that Nigerians have endured enough hardship from insecurity and economic challenges, suggesting that a positive turnaround is still possible if the system is reformed.
“Having said that, I think that Nigerians have paid enough by the current situation—the suffering that they are going through, the insecurity, the hunger in the land, and all of this. Despite the behavior of politicians, they may still effect a turnaround of the system.”
Speaking on electoral transparency, Prof. Utomi clarified that the proposal for live transmission and global monitoring of polling unit results was originally a Big Tent initiative, not an official NDC plan. He said the idea had been discussed earlier and later became associated with the NDC in media reports.
“I first saw that in the form that it came out, and attributing that to the NDC. I did that two months ago. It was not NDC, no, it was the Big Tent. And we did it like two months ago. And then suddenly last weekend, it became NDC and went out,” he clarified.
