“Prepare To Hand Over But Not To Those Contesting Against You” — Datti Tells Tinubu, Slams Atiku, Obi

The Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said none of President Bola Tinubu’s major opponents ahead of the 2027 election has the capacity to improve Nigeria, including his former principal, Peter Obi.

Baba-Ahmed made the remarks on Saturday during an appearance on the MicOn Podcast.

President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress is seeking a second term, with Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress emerging as his major challengers.

“I will simply advise uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him,” Baba-Ahmed said.

“Because none of them will improve Nigeria. All those people contesting against him too were all in bed together at some point or another — including Peter Obi. At some point, he was in PDP,” he added.

Baba-Ahmed, who was Obi’s running mate in 2023, said he was advocating a “new Nigeria”, arguing that he remained the only politician among the major contenders who had never belonged to a ruling party.

“Tell me one politician who has never been in a ruling party. I’m the one. Have I ever been in a ruling party?” he queried.

The former lawmaker explained that although he was once a member of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, he left the party before its merger with other parties that produced the APC.

“I have never been in a ruling party. When I was in CPC, it was a little opposition party. I never had an APC membership card,” he said.

He also accused President Tinubu of weakening political parties since assuming office, saying all he did in three years was to “destroy political parties” and that he had “qualified himself for divine intervention.”