Peter Obi has said he cannot be certain he will survive to contest the 2027 presidential election, citing what he describes as daily frustration and targeted obstruction by the current administration. The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate made the remarks in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, where he claimed his livelihood and routine activities are being systematically disrupted. "I might not even be alive to contest the 2027 presidential election," Obi said. "Every single thing I do for a living, this government is frustrating me. Deliberately so."
He alleged that actions which should be ordinary have become sources of tension, with officials indirectly blocking his access to services and spaces. Obi pointed to a recent incident at an airport where his vehicle was locked by officials, even though other cars in the same area were left untouched. "I had a case recently at the airport where people who work in the airport came and locked my car. And I said, 'It's me.' They said, 'It doesn't care,'" he recounted.
Obi claimed opposition figures are being personally targeted, including through social isolation. He said some Anambra residents avoid greeting him in public out of fear of government reprisal. "To the Anambra people I know, at the airport they will not greet me because they are afraid that if they greet me, they become targets of the government," he said. He added that some supporters have invited him to family events but urged him not to attend. "And I have people send me invitations and say, 'My son, my daughter is wedding. But please don't come.'"
Peter Obi claims the government is deliberately undermining his daily life while stopping short of direct confrontation, relying instead on indirect blockades and bureaucratic friction. His account of being ignored at the airport while others are accommodated suggests a pattern of selective enforcement. If routine services are being weaponized against a presidential aspirant, the space for opposition participation is already narrowing before the election cycle fully begins. The fear expressed by those who avoid him undermines the notion of a level political field.
Editorial note: AI-assisted opinion, not established fact. Full disclaimer →
