My Comments on Tinubu, Obi, Atiku Were Misrepresented – Datti Baba-Ahmed

Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has insisted that his recent comments about President Bola Tinubu and other 2027 presidential contenders were taken out of context and misrepresented.

Speaking on Friday during an interview on Trust TV, Baba-Ahmed said he was rushed and distracted during an earlier appearance on Channels TV, which led to the controversial remark that went viral.

—WHAT HE ORIGINALLY SAID—

During an appearance on the Mic On Podcast with Channels TV’s Seun Okinbaloye, Baba-Ahmed was asked what advice he would give President Tinubu ahead of 2027.

He responded: “I will simply advise uncle to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him. Because none of them will improve Nigeria. All those people contesting against him were all in bed together at some point or another—including Peter Obi. At some point, he was in the PDP.”

The clip sparked outrage online, with many Nigerians accusing him of fronting for the APC and undermining Peter Obi ahead of 2027.

—“I WAS RUSHED AND DISTRACTED”—

Clarifying on Trust TV, Baba-Ahmed explained the context behind the remark.

“Channels Television’s Seun asked me what advice I would give to President Tinubu. I responded that Tinubu should prepare to hand over power for the sake of fairness, so as not to unduly advantage Atiku Abubakar,” he said.

“He then added ‘including Peter Obi’ to the question while I was rushing. Because of time and stress, I responded, ‘yes.’ And that is what Nigerians took.

“This was the context behind the remark that was reported as ‘Peter Obi can’t improve Nigeria’,” Baba-Ahmed explained.

He stressed that his intention was to speak on fairness in power rotation, not to endorse any candidate or attack Obi personally.

—BACKLASH FROM NDC—

The clarification comes amid criticism from the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC.

NDC Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theo Abu Agada, accused Baba-Ahmed of attacking Obi since the former LP standard bearer chose Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate on the NDC platform.

“Since the presidential candidate of our great party, the NDC, His Excellency Peter Obi, made the idealistic and pragmatic decision to choose His Excellency Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed has been going from one platform to another, attacking and undermining him,” Agada wrote on X.

“Datti needs to move on. Obi has made his decision, and Datti should respect it.”

—2027 REALIGNMENTS IN FOCUS—

Baba-Ahmed’s comments come as political realignments gather pace ahead of the 2027 elections.

INEC has already released the final list of 18 presidential candidates, with Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi expected to lead major blocs.

The former lawmaker, who was Obi’s running mate in 2023, has in recent weeks emphasised that his legacy lies in education, healthcare and aviation, not just politics.

As of press time, neither Peter Obi nor the Labour Party had issued an official response to Baba-Ahmed’s latest clarification.

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