Utomi dismissed the circulating rumors as trivial, explaining that his initial remarks were a reaction to assertions by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
His comments are contained in a video clip posted by SYMFONI on its YouTube channel on Sunday, January 11, 2026.
Keyamo had alleged that Obi was positioning himself for a secondary role on a presidential ticket, a claim Utomi labeled as completely uninformed.
Utomi maintained that Obi is not seeking a vice-presidential slot and declared that should the political coalition prioritize such an arrangement over a transformative leadership agenda, he would no longer participate in the process.
He said, "When you have nuance conversation, people play up all kinds of things. That's a meaningless thing.
First of all, I was being interviewed and the person said Keyamo said Obi is going there to be Vice President, and I said he is talking nonsense.
He doesn't know what he's talking about. He cannot be going there just to be somebody's vice president. If that's the kind of arrangement I will walk away."
This explanation serves to contextualize previous media accounts which suggested that Utomi was on the verge of abandoning the ADC.
Those earlier reports indicated that the professor had issued a stern warning, promising to sever ties with the movement if the former Anambra State Governor settled for a vice president position in the 2027 election cycle.
This narrative gained traction following Obi’s defection from the Labour Party to the ADC during the "Enugu Declaration" at the close of 2025, a move supported by figures such as David Mark.
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