Former Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has faulted the decision of Peter Obi to leave the party amid its ongoing internal disagreements, saying the move does not reflect strong leadership.
Baba-Ahmed, who was Obi’s running mate in the 2023 polls, also cast doubt on the possibility of northern voters backing a proposed political alliance between Obi and former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 elections.
It would be recalled that Vanguard reported on Sunday that Obi and Kwankwaso, who was also a presidential candidate, had left the African Democratic Congress and moved to the Nigerian Democratic Congress as part of broader opposition realignments.
Speaking with journalists on Monday after his own defection to the Peoples Redemption Party, Baba-Ahmed said his comments were personal opinions, adding that he still maintains cordial relations with both political figures.
He further disclosed that he had previously advised Obi to reach out to Kwankwaso and other opposition leaders as part of strategic planning for the 2027 elections, noting that he had even proposed aspects of the current alliance being discussed.
He stated, “As much as possible, I try to avoid names of anybody at this stage or the politics of anyone. But it is very unlikely that the north will rally around Obi and Kwankwaso.
“I did say that I feel guilty because I was the one who told Peter Obi on the 31st of January 2024 in John Woods’ hotel. After asking him a few things, I told him, ‘Your excellency, from this point there is Kwankwaso, there is el-Rufai, and there’s another person. I would like to suggest you approach them.
“The business that I do now, which started around 2011, I was planning as far back as 1996, and if in 2024 you cannot plan for 2027, I’m sorry I cannot continue to be with you.
“So they are going together now with Kwankwaso; it’s my idea… Will it work? I think it’s a big question. We’ll wait and see,” he added.
He also questioned Kwankwaso’s earlier political choices during the 2023 elections and what might have changed in the current political arrangement, while suggesting that leadership tensions could arise within the alliance.
“However, remember, why didn’t Kwankwaso support Peter Obi in 2022/23? What changed between 2022 and 23?” he asked.
“You have a vice-president that is older than you in age, education, political profile, and many other things. Who is going to be the president, actually?”
On Obi’s exit from the Labour Party, Baba-Ahmed argued that the former Anambra State Governor ought to have remained within the party to help resolve its internal challenges.
“Someone who got a Labour Party ticket so easily should have stayed to fix the problems of the Labour Party, however difficult they were.
“I stood and I earned the wrath of many because I said, ‘Come and reconcile’ in the Labour Party, only for me to hear and read that my former leader says wherever there is a quarrel, he will walk away. So, there’s a quarrel in Nigeria; you’ll walk away? These are things that don’t add up.
“A leader must be firm. However gentle you are as a leader, you must be willing to fight… If you’re not ready to fight, don’t even come out; stay in your house. You are going into politics, which is a contact sport, and in a country like Nigeria that is diverse and heated, you don’t want to argue? then this is not your game.”
