Former vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed has disclosed that he played a key role in the Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso ticket.
Speaking in an interview with Punch, Baba-Ahmed stated that he feels guilty because he advised Obi to align with Kwankwaso.
He lamented that he had failed to consider certain dynamics before making the suggestion to Obi in January.
Baba-Ahmed expressed doubt that the North would rally behind Obi and Kwankwaso.
According to him, “It is very unlikely that the North will rally around the O-K ticket. And this is my personal opinion. I still have an excellent relationship and much respect for both of them.
“I did say that I feel guilty because I was the one who told Peter Obi to run with him on the 31st of January 2024 at JohnWood Hotel.
“After asking him a few things, I told him, Your Excellency, from this point, there is Kwankwaso, there is (Nasir) El-Rufai, there’s another person. I would like to suggest you approach them.
“The business that I do now, which started around 2011, I was planning it as far back as 1996. If in 2024, you cannot plan ahead of 2027, I’m sorry, I cannot continue to be with you.
“I recommended the option. So the coming together of Obi and Kwankwaso was my idea.”
On the chances of the alliance against Tinubu in 2027, he hesitated before answering.
“Will it work? I think it’s a big question. We just have to wait and see. However, remember, why didn’t we get Kwankwaso to support Peter Obi in 2023? What changed between 2023 and 2026?
“In the demographics of Nigeria, where you’re looking for new blood and a new generation, you have a vice president who is older than you, first of all in age, education, political profile and in so many other things.
“The local government is nearly his state, and the state is nearly his region. This is somebody with a burning ambition and temperament. So, who is going to be the president, actually?
“If you are presenting a ticket, throughout history, there’s a certain configuration that goes. The respect that I still carry for Obi is because of the fact that we have that configuration.
“So even though I recommended Kwankwaso for Obi, as of the time I was doing that, I didn’t really deeply reflect on all these political dynamics until it came.
“How will Kano think that their champion, who has serially wanted to be the president, is now going to serve as deputy? I know we got nearly 25 per cent in Kano before the results were changed. That doesn’t play out well in any political contest.”
