By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Political economist Prof. Pat Utomi has explained that his support for Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election was driven primarily by his concerns about Nigeria’s political and governance system rather than by personal considerations.
Utomi made the remarks in a post on his X handle on Thursday, recalling the reasons behind his support for Obi as the country approaches the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections following a revision of its earlier timetable.
According to Utomi, his concern was about what he described as a system of “transactional government” which, in his view, had become entrenched in the country’s political system.
He said the structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), as he viewed them at the time, encouraged political arrangements in which individuals made commitments to supporters and associates in anticipation of gaining access to public resources.
“I argued that the PDP and APC, as structured at the time, were driven by what I called ‘transactional government,’” Utomi said.
He explained that such a system could involve political actors making expectations-based arrangements over government positions, contracts and access to public resources even before assuming office.
“To emerge through that system, you had already made commitments, this person gets an oil well, another gets a ministry, another expects a percentage of the ministry’s budget,” he said.
Utomi argued that when governance became transactional, the benefits of political power were concentrated among individuals and networks close to those in government, while broader national development suffered.
“And when government becomes transactional, the friends of those in power get richer while the country remains stuck,” he said.
The political economist stressed that his position was based on experiences and engagements with political actors rather than abstract assumptions.
“I’m not talking about stuff in the air. It’s stuff I have dealt with; I have spoken out personally to all of them aloud,” he said.
He said those concerns formed the basis of his support for Obi, whom he believed represented an opportunity to move Nigeria away from transactional politics towards a governance model focused on transformation.
“That was the basis of my support for Peter Obi. I believed Nigeria needed to move away from transactional politics and toward a government focused on transformation,” Utomi said.
Precise Post recalls that Utomi’s comments come as political parties and emerging political alliances prepare for the 2027 general elections, with the presidential poll scheduled for January 16, 2027.
