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Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has clarified his recent remarks about Peter Obi, saying his comments were taken out of the broader argument he was making about the 2027 presidential election.
Baba-Ahmed had sparked reactions following an interview with Seun Okinbaloye in which he said none of the major contenders for the 2027 presidency, including Obi, had the capacity to fix Nigeria.
However, appearing on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, the former Labour Party presidential running mate explained that his response concerning Obi came in the course of a wider discussion about fairness in the 2027 election.
According to him, he had been discussing President Bola Tinubu and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar before the interviewer specifically asked whether his argument also applied to Obi.
“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?” Baba-Ahmed said.
He said his position was that all presidential contenders should be given a level playing field, stressing that his comments should not be interpreted as support for Atiku or any particular candidate.
“I said it is just equity, give a level playing ground to all of them. That’s what happened. Seun now added, including Peter Obi?” he said.
Baba-Ahmed explained that he answered in the affirmative because of the time constraints surrounding the interview, but Nigerians subsequently concentrated on that portion of his response.
“Now, because of time and stress and all that, it was on Friday and to get the question out of the way, I said, ‘Yes, including Peter Obi’ and then, that is what Nigerians took,” he said.
The former Labour Party presidential candidate also questioned the criticism generated by his remarks, arguing that politicians should be allowed to change political affiliations.
“Now, it is okay for Peter Obi to leave Atiku in 2022, go to another party, share the votes and lose it but it is not okay for anybody to leave Peter Obi. What kind of country are we in? Am I not a Nigerian?” Baba-Ahmed asked.
He further recalled his disagreement with Obi’s decision to leave the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying he had previously advised the former Anambra State governor against the move.
“We were in Labour Party and he had been cancelled as the presidential candidate since 2024. I did everything to keep Peter Obi in, he moved out to ADC and I told him, it is not a place for you,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed maintained that subsequent developments had vindicated his concerns about Obi’s political decision, while lamenting that the wider issues he raised about democracy and political principles had received less attention.
“I went there to discuss democracy, to discuss the first republic, I went there and brought solid principles, solid arguments, put forward. It didn’t matter to anybody. That is how low political discussions have become,” he said.
