Ovation Magazine boss Dele Momodu has urged Nigerians not to place all their reliance on Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

According to him, the focus on Obi is distracting Nigerians from debating the current critical national challenges, such as insecurity, poor electricity supply, and weak governance.

Speaking during an Arise TV interview, Momodu lamented that political discourse has been overly reduced to regional identity rather than competence and practical solutions.

“I’m not going to be bogged down in this zoning brouhaha because I’ve realised that it is a deliberate distraction from the important issues that we should be discussing,” Momodu said.

“Instead of us now discussing we have no electricity, security is nil, and so on and so forth, all we’re now talking about is where a man comes from. I think it’s like someone has hypnotised us,” he added.


Further speaking, Momodu accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of deliberately fueling the zoning debate as a strategy to retain power in 2027.

He claimed President Bola Tinubu has encouraged a North-versus-South narrative to divide the opposition. He noted that while zoning may be politically significant, it has no constitutional backing, preventing any Nigerian from contesting the presidency, regardless of region.

On the possibility of an alliance between Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, Momodu dismissed suggestions that such a partnership would automatically guarantee victory, stressing that elections are won through structure, numbers, and strategy rather than online popularity.