Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election on the party’s platform.
He made the announcement on Wednesday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Dockaysworld notes that the declaration comes days after Peter Obi dumped the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on December 31. Obi has also indicated he will contest the 2027 presidential election under the ADC.
Addressing party members, Baba-Ahmed said his ambition was not influenced by Obi’s defection.
“I have made myself to contest for the office in 2027. I’m not following anybody’s trajectory or stepping into anybody’s shoes,” he said.
He added that his presidential ambition predates the 2023 election.
“Can I please remind you that before His Excellency Governor Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I aspired for the presidency before him? The records are there for you to see,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed recalled contesting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primaries in 2018 before joining forces with Obi.
“In October 2018, I participated in the primaries of the then PDP in Port Harcourt and walked to Obi for his vote, and he smiled at me. What a gentleman he was,” he said.
He said he supported Obi in 2023 in the interest of national unity.
“If you heard me well in what I just submitted, I saw a rare opportunity for national unity to have elected Peter Obi in 2023. And that is why I decided to flow with it,” he said.
Addressing concerns over religion and ethnicity, Baba-Ahmed said the constitution guarantees every qualified Nigerian the right to contest elections.
“Yes, I am a practising Muslim. But I’m a Nigerian, and the constitution allows me to contest,” he said.
“Yes, I am a Hausa man, and the Nigerian constitution also allows me to contest. I’m doing this because Nigeria needs help,” he added.
He said he would wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable before taking further steps.
“As a law-abiding citizen and a loyal party member, until the timetable is released by INEC and the leadership of the Labour Party calls for interested aspirants, I will not say anything about it,” he said.
Reacting, Labour Party factional national chairman Julius Abure praised Baba-Ahmed for remaining in the party.
“Only recently, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, told the world that he joined the party before Peter Obi did,” Abure said.
Abure said Baba-Ahmed called him on the night Obi defected to reaffirm his loyalty.
“He said he is not leaving the party because it was the platform upon which he, along with the former candidate, received 10 million votes from Nigerians,” he said.
He added that Baba-Ahmed proposed a meeting of party leaders to demonstrate unity.
“The Labour Party is intact, we will not let Nigerians down. We will remain together and provide a genuine alternative for Nigerians,” Abure said.
Meanwhile, more moves ahead of 2027 are still in the works with the ADC, the PDP and other parties eyeing a chance to unseat the ruling APC.
The ADC is home to several prominent political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Transport Minister and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
