A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Danbature Abdul-Hamid, has claimed that 99.9 per cent of Northern Nigerians do not know former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general election.
Abdul-Hamid made the assertion during an appearance on News Central TV while defending President Bola Tinubu’s political support base in Northern Nigeria.
“Majority, majority, 99.9 per cent of Northern Nigerians don’t even know who Peter Obi is,” he said.
The APC chieftain also claimed that Nigerian footballer Michael Obi was more popular in the region than the former Anambra State governor.
When asked to clarify his comparison, Abdul-Hamid maintained that the footballer was better known than the politician.
He argued that Northern Nigeria was too large for its political landscape to be assessed based on activities in a few cities, including Kaduna, Abuja and Nasarawa.
“When you are talking of Northern Nigeria, it’s not only being in Kaduna, Abuja or Nasarawa. Northern Nigeria is very, very large and big,” he said.
Abdul-Hamid further argued that Tinubu’s political influence in the region extended beyond elected officials to grassroots campaign structures operating at state and local government levels.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a grassroots politician. He’s not this kind of politician that you think he will only deal with the governors,” he said.
He disclosed that he and other campaign coordinators had attended a recent political gathering, insisting that the President’s support network was broader than the presence of governors at the event might suggest.
Expressing confidence in Tinubu’s political prospects ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Abdul-Hamid predicted that the President could emerge without facing serious opposition.
“That was the reason why, to us, in 2027, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming out unopposed,” he said.
The APC campaign council member also criticised the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that they failed to deliver sufficient industrial development in Northern Nigeria.
He maintained that the Tinubu administration was pursuing infrastructure projects and establishing agencies to address some of the country’s economic challenges.
Abdul-Hamid cited the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline as one of the projects he believed deserved recognition.
His remarks come amid political manoeuvring and discussions over party strength, opposition alliances and regional support ahead of the 2027 general election.
However, no survey evidence was presented to substantiate his claim that 99.9 per cent of Northerners do not know Obi.
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