Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, running mate to Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election, has dismissed all the major politicians challenging President Bola Tinubu in 2027 as incapable of improving Nigeria.
He included his former political partner, Peter Obi, in the list.
Baba-Ahmed, however, said Tinubu should prepare to leave office at the end of his tenure.
He argued that the President should not expect to return to power but should also not hand over to any of the politicians currently positioning themselves as alternatives. The former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate spoke during an interview on the MIC ON Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye.
Asked about the advice he would give Tinubu concerning his leadership and the 2027 contest, Datti said:
‘I will simply advise uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him because none of them will improve Nigeria,’ Baba-Ahmed said.
Pressed on whether his assessment applied to all those challenging Tinubu, he maintained that it did, specifically naming Obi when the former Anambra State governor was mentioned.
‘None of that part. Tinubu should leave the stage. All those people contesting against him, too, they were all in bed together at some point or another,’ he said.
When the interviewer sought clarification on whether he was referring to Obi, Baba-Ahmed responded: ‘Including Peter Obi, I’m sorry to say.’
He linked his position partly to the political histories of the opposition figures.
He maintained that Nigerians seeking a fundamentally different political direction should examine the previous affiliations of those presenting themselves as alternatives.
Turning specifically to Obi, Baba-Ahmed said his former running mate had previously belonged to the Peoples Democratic Party when it was the ruling party, despite now seeking to lead a ‘whole new Nigeria.
‘Tell me one politician who has never been in a ruling party. Tell me,’ he said.
Baba-Ahmed also defended his own political record, insisting that he had never belonged to a ruling party.
‘I have never been in a ruling party. While I was in CPC, CPC was the leading opposition party, even above the ANPP then,’ he said.
He added that after the CPC became part of the APC and the party came to power, he resigned from the new party, stressing that he never held an APC membership card.
Baba-Ahmed’s criticism of Obi extended beyond the former governor’s political history to the decisions that shaped his movement ahead of the 2027 election.
He disclosed that he personally warned Obi against joining the African Democratic Congress.
He said he believed the platform was unsuitable for his political ambitions.
According to him, he went to the Yar’Adua Centre ahead of Obi and privately pulled him aside to express his reservations about the proposed move.
‘When he was going to join ADC, I had to go to Yar’Adua Centre ahead of him, I called him aside. They were worried. Why is Datti calling Peter Obi aside and talking to him?’ he said.
Baba-Ahmed said he was unequivocal in his advice, telling Obi that he did not believe the ADC was the appropriate platform for him.
‘And I told him, ‘This is the last time I’m coming to this place. I gave him my reasons. This is not a place for you.’ Was I wrong? I was proven right,’ he said.
He cited Obi’s eventual departure from the ADC as confirmation of his earlier reservations.
He said ‘Within four months, Peter Obi left ADC.’
Baba-Ahmed said the development also marked a point beyond which he could no longer influence Obi’s political decisions.
‘Peter Obi moved out of his comfort zone against my advice. Beyond that point, I could no longer help him,’ he said.
His comments mark a sharp break from the political partnership that took Obi and Baba-Ahmed to the 2023 presidential contest on the Labour Party platform, where they emerged as one of the most prominent alternatives to the established APC and PDP structures.
Their relationship has however changed considerably, with both men pursuing separate political paths ahead of the next presidential election.
Obi has now secured the presidential ticket of the NDC for the 2027 election, while Baba-Ahmed left the Labour Party in April and announced his move to the Peoples Redemption Party.
Baba-Ahmed’s assessment comes as opposition parties continue to grapple with the question of whether they can produce a sufficiently broad political alternative to challenge the APC in 2027.
The former lawmaker did not present Tinubu as the preferred alternative.
The 2027 presidential election is scheduled for January 16, 2027, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Obi’s political journey since 2022 has involved successive shifts in party platforms.
He left the PDP in May 2022, shortly before its presidential primary, and joined the Labour Party days later.
He subsequently won the LP presidential ticket and ran with Baba-Ahmed in 2023.
The 2023 election significantly altered Nigeria’s traditional two-party presidential contest.
INEC’s final figures gave Tinubu of the APC 8,794,726 votes, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP 6,984,520 and Obi 6,101,533.
Obi therefore finished third nationally but became the first Labour Party presidential candidate to emerge as a major national contender on that scale.
Obi’s 2023 campaign also produced a political constituency that extended beyond the conventional structure of the Labour Party.
His strongest support came particularly from younger and urban voters, while the ‘Obidient’ movement developed into a significant political force independent of the party’s traditional organisational structure.
His subsequent decision to leave the Labour Party and enter the ADC was part of a broader opposition realignment ahead of 2027.
His criticism of Obi therefore comes after both men have independently abandoned the political arrangement that took them into the 2023 election.
The disagreement is unfolding as opposition parties are again discussing the possibility of presenting a single candidate against Tinubu.
In early September, representatives of several opposition parties, including the ADC, NDC, PDP, PRP, APM and SDP, began fresh discussions on a possible single presidential candidate, although both Atiku and Obi were absent from the meeting.
INEC has fixed January 16, 2027 for the presidential and National Assembly elections.