It Was Time And Stress – Datti Reveals Why He Said Peter Obi Can’t Fix Nigeria

Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed has reacted to criticism after his controversial remarks about Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi.

Naija News reports that Baba-Ahmed said in a recent interview that none of the leading contenders for the 2027 presidency, including Obi, whom he deputised in the 2023 election, had the capacity to fix Nigeria.

However, speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Baba-Ahmed said that Nigerians focused on his reference to the former Anambra State governor rather than the argument he was making about the 2027 presidential election.

He argued that his response mentioning Obi came while he was explaining his call for President Bola Tinubu to prepare to hand over power and ensure a level playing field for all presidential contenders.

He said the discussion had focused on the electoral prospects of Tinubu and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar before the interviewer asked whether his position 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 explained that his position was based on fairness and that he was not campaigning for Atiku, stressing that he is not a member of Atiku’s political party.

“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.

According to Baba-Ahmed, he responded in the affirmative because of time constraints during the interview, but Nigerians subsequently focused on that particular 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 running mate also questioned why his criticism of Obi had generated such strong reactions, arguing that political figures should be free to change political platforms.

“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 recalled his disagreement with Obi’s decision to leave the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying he had advised him 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.