January 25, 2026 — Dalena Reporters
Nigeria’s Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has said that former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi lacks the political structure and regional support needed to win elections in the core northern states of Nigeria, SaharaReporters reports.
Musawa, a long-time supporter of former President Muhammadu Buhari, made the comments during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on the Mic On programme. She drew parallels between Obi’s political movement and Buhari’s early presidential bids, which failed in 2003, 2007 and 2011 due to what she described as the absence of broad-based national backing.
“In the core North, there is nothing Peter Obi is going to do that is going to get him election victories,” Musawa said, asserting that historical voting patterns and political structures in the region work against Obi’s prospects.
Musawa compared Obi’s situation to Buhari’s earlier efforts to win the presidency, noting that despite Buhari’s popularity and strong following in the North between 2003 and 2011, he was unable to win until a political alliance was formed with Bola Tinubu, who helped provide crucial support from the South.
She said that Buhari only emerged victorious in 2015 after what she described as a political “bridge” was built between northern and south-western Nigeria through Tinubu’s political machinery, and implied Obi lacks a similar nationwide coalition.
Musawa maintained that Obi’s political movement shares similarities with Buhari’s early campaigns but would fail in core northern states without a strategic alliance, despite Obi’s strong support among young voters and urban populations in the South and parts of the Middle Belt.