The Labour Party (LP) vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said President Bola Tinubu would not be in office today if Peter Obi had followed his advice after the last presidential election.
Datti also claimed that he suggested the idea of an Obi-Kwankwaso alliance to Obi after the 2023 election.
He spoke on the sidelines of his official unveiling at the national headquarters of the Peoples Redemption Party in Abuja.
The former running mate to Obi arrived at the event with a delegation of Labour Party officials loyal to the ousted national chairman, Julius Abure, as well as members of his political camp.
Reflecting on the 2023 presidential campaign, Datti said he stood by Obi when others avoided him.
He said, “In 2023, I was out of this country, actually, when His Excellency called me to join. He was avoided serially by others.
“Again, because I know God says live together in Nigeria and do justice to each other, I felt morally obliged not to avoid him as he was avoided by others.
“I stood by him. All the toga, the identity card to be worn, I corrected it. The pushing out of northerners, I corrected it. The ‘Yes Daddy’ controversy, I corrected it. And so many other things like that.
“If only Obi had gone by what I said, Tinubu would not be in the villa today.”
Datti criticised what he described as a lack of firmness during the post-election period, saying a leader must be ready to fight when necessary.
He said, “A leader must be firm. However gentle you are as a leader, you must be willing to fight. Where is the first place you fight as a leader?
“When they are going to steal your victory, you don’t allow what happened in 2023, a clear constitutional breach, to take place. They left only one person, me, to fight the constitutional breach.
“Nobody spoke about the constitutional breach. Just me. You don’t do that. You must fight at that point. If you’re not ready to fight, don’t even bother to come out. Stay in your house.
“You’re going into politics, which is a contact sport. In a country like Nigeria that is so diverse, so heated, and you don’t want to quarrel or argue, then this is not for you.”
Datti Claims Obi-Kwankwaso Idea
Datti also said he played a role in the proposed Obi-Kwankwaso alliance ahead of the 2027 elections, though he expressed doubts over its chances.
He said, “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.”
He said planning for the 2027 election should have started early.
“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,” he stated.
On the chances of the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket against Tinubu in 2027, Datti said it remained uncertain.
He said, “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?”
Datti said the structure of a presidential ticket mattered in Nigerian politics.
He further stated, “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.”
Datti Faults Obi’s Party Exit
Datti also criticised Obi’s handling of the Labour Party crisis, saying he should have stayed to fix the party.
He said, “As much as I dislike what the APC has been doing against Nigeria, I believe that someone who got the Labour Party ticket so easily should have stayed to fix the problems of the party, however difficult they were.
“I earned the wrath of many because I kept begging for him to come and reconcile with the Labour Party, only for me to hear, read and even view it in the news.
“I mean, here was my former leader, my boss, whom I believed in so much, saying that wherever there’s a quarrel, he will walk away. So if there’s a quarrel in Nigeria, you will walk away. These are things that don’t add up.”
Tanko Dismisses Datti’s Claim
According to Punch, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, in his reaction, dismissed Datti’s claims, insisting Obi had consistently challenged the current administration.
Tanko said, “We don’t want to join issues with Datti Baba-Ahmed. It is on record that Peter Obi continuously challenged this government for almost four years. Nobody, no contestant in Nigeria has been able to do that.
“So, fighting does not mean you bring in boxing gloves. You can fight in such a way that people will feel your impact.
“And, as of today, there is no candidate in Nigeria that can move from Party A with one million people and still move the same one million people to Party B and C, and they still remain intact. It is only Peter Obi.
“So, I am making this particular statement passionately, not because I am supporting Obi. I am saying it on a factual basis that the statement he made is completely wrong. I am not taking him on.
“Has there been any candidate in Nigeria today for a complete four years that continues to challenge this particular government? The only candidate that this particular government is afraid of is Peter Obi.”
‘Many People Pushed Obi-Kwankwaso Alliance’
On Datti’s claim that he initiated the Obi-Kwankwaso talks, Tanko said the effort was collective and that no single person could take credit for it.
He said, “This shouldn’t call for an argument. I know many people have a hand in the push for Obi-Kwankwaso’s ticket. But not a single person can take that particular credit.
“I will give you my story. Before the 2023 general election, there was an interview that I granted on Arise TV, suggesting that Obi and Kwankwaso would work together as one.
“When I said that, the whole internet was agog so much that the Kwankwasiyya, supporters of Kwankwaso, in Calabar at that time, came out supporting that particular joint ticket.
“Kwankwaso called me to find out what the buzz was all about, and I told him about the idea of a joint ticket with Obi. I am talking about four years ago, even before the 2023 general election. So, the next thing that happened was that his people called me and said, Tanko, this idea is a good one.”
Tanko said he later continued engaging both camps, including visiting Kwankwaso in Kano.
He added, “His people further suggested that we put the two of them inside a room. And ask them to give us a presidential candidate and a vice-presidential candidate. If none of them come out and gives us that answer, we should go in there and beat them.
“Go and confirm from both Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, I told him this story. This is what happened.
“At the end of it all, again, I worked tirelessly on a continual basis for Kwankwaso, Prof Pat Utomi, Obi and everybody.
“The last one was the night I visited Kwankwaso in Kano and asked him to come and work with us. He gave me his reasons and explained how he thinks he can do it. But the result is what we are seeing now. And what he told me is what we are seeing right now.”
Tanko insisted that the current political alignment was the product of contributions from many individuals and groups.
He said, “I’m not claiming credit. I’m only saying that many people played their own basic parts. So, nobody or a particular group can claim that they did it because of an election.
“Remember that about 6.7 million people voted for Peter Obi. Should I now say that I’m the only one who won the election for Peter Obi? No. So it’s a collective effort.
“Many of us started it even before 2023. It’s on record, and it’s a fact. The fact was straight.”
