“Tinubu Does Not Have Enough Votes To Win 2027, Atiku Does Not Have Who Will Declare Him” — Datti Baba-Ahmed Clarifies Viral Interview With Seun Okinbaloye
Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has clarified his controversial remarks about the 2027 presidential race.
He clarified this on Trust TV Daily Politics program while addressing the media reaction that trailed his recent exchange with broadcast journalist Seun Okinbaloye.
Explaining the context of the discussion, Baba-Ahmed said the interaction arose after persistent questioning regarding advice for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election. He stated that his primary intention was to address broader political variables and structural governance rather than focus on specific individuals.
“It was on a Friday, last Friday. Prayers were being called and I could hear it, and at the beginning, I stated what the setting should be about. About major political variables and not about individuals, and we seemed headed in that direction. But your good friend Seun was rather impossible that day, he kept scratching and scratching and drawing me in,” he said.
On his party’s current standing, he added:
“I believe in fairness and I practice fairness. My candidate is not doing well like I said, and there’s no hiding it. PRP is not commanding the heights that we thought it would command.”
On his advice to President Tinubu, Baba-Ahmed reiterated his projection for 2027:
“I think Tinubu does not have enough people, voters, to get him across in 2027. And the leading, or a leading contender does not have who to declare him… Tinubu does not have enough votes to win. If Atiku is the leading challenger, Atiku does not have who to declare him. Do you now see the problem? To answer Seun’s question, I now said that Tinubu should prepare to hand over.”
He said the call for a level playing field was based on equity, not partisanship.
“For fairness, in order not to unduly disadvantage Tinubu and unduly advantage Atiku and his people, whom I’m not with for God’s sake. I’m not in their party.”
On the viral comment involving Peter Obi, he clarified that his response was made under pressure to avoid singling out any candidate:
“Then Seun now added, ‘including Peter Obi?’ Now because of time and stress, it was on Friday and all that, to get this question out of the way, like, yes, including Peter Obi, so what? And then that is what Nigerians took.”
He questioned the double standard in political narratives:
“Now, it is okay for Peter Obi to leave Atiku in 2022, go to another party, challenge him, share the votes and lose it. But it is not okay for anybody to leave Peter Obi? We were in Labour Party and he had been penciled as the presidential candidate since 2024. I did everything to keep Peter Obi in. He moved out to ADC, and I told him it’s not a place for you.”
Baba-Ahmed lamented that his substantive arguments on democracy and the Fourth Republic were overlooked for sensational soundbites, noting that this shows how low political discussions have become in Nigeria.
