2027: If You Had The Guts To Challenge Sitting President, Why Didn’t You Come Out? – Sambo Fires Datti

The Director of Politics at Arise News, Sumner Sambo, has questioned why Labour Party (LP) former Vice Presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, did not declare his own presidential ambition if he believed the current opposition contenders lacked the capacity to lead Nigeria.

Naija News reports that Datti said none of President Bola Tinubu’s challengers, including Peter Obi, can change Nigeria.

Baba-Ahmed made the statement during an interview on MIC ON Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye.

The politician said he did not believe the opposition figures seeking to challenge Tinubu had what it would take to transform the country.

Reacting, Sambo, speaking on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Monday, criticised Baba-Ahmed over his comments, urging him to be more cautious with his public statements and allow politicians actively participating in the 2027 contest to pursue their ambitions.

“In 2023, Datti was only a vice presidential candidate. If he had the guts to come out and challenge the process, including a sitting president, why didn’t he come out at this moment?” he asked

Sambo also described Baba-Ahmed’s suggestion that President Bola Tinubu should prepare to leave office but should not hand over power to any of the politicians currently challenging him as disjointed.

He said opposition figures such as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar and other politicians seeking to challenge the incumbent deserved recognition for taking on the risks associated with contesting against a sitting president.

Sambo also cautioned Baba-Ahmed against making comments that could further heighten political tension in the country, noting that some of his statements, including those directed at Vice President Kashim Shettima, were particularly strong.

He added, “I think he should sort of like be quiet a bit and let those who are in the field play the game that they are playing because some of the comments that he actually made just seem disjointed.

“I don’t know under a democracy what particular platform he would be using to actually ask a sitting president to hand over power to people who are not in the contest.

“We have a sitting president, there are contestants. So it beggars belief what exactly he was trying to aim at.

“He has a right to actually make political comments. But I will just plead with him to be very careful because the statement he made actually was denigrating to all the great presidential candidates that we actually have”