The Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has poured scorn on the African Democratic Congress-led coalition of opposition parties, branding it a “deception” and insisting he remains firmly aligned with Peter Obi.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Baba-Ahmed dismissed any speculation about his involvement with the coalition. “They are deceiving us,” he said. “I am a Labour Party man, for God’s sake. I am Peter Obi’s man. I still want Peter Obi to come back to the Labour Party and contest in 2027.”
The politician also launched a blistering critique of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing its leadership of subverting the constitution during last year’s presidential election. He argued that the body’s credibility was in tatters and that Nigeria’s deepening instability could be traced back to electoral malpractice.
“The electoral fraud is right now the single most important fact to be addressed in our life as a nation, even beyond insecurity,” he said. “Insecurity is derived from electoral fraud. Corruption is aggravated by the kind of electoral fraud that we have.”
Baba-Ahmed cited the constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate to secure 25 per cent of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria’s states and the Federal Capital Territory, alleging INEC had “breached” this rule in 2023.
But the ADC dismissed his comments. National publicity secretary Bolaji Abdullahi said simply: “When he begins to make sense, we will respond.”
