Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, who ran with Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential race, says the African Democratic Congress (ADC) must choose a candidate the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot predict if it hopes to win the 2027 election.
“If you bring out Atiku, they know how to work against Atiku. You need that candidate they can’t understand, they don’t know where to catch. That is how to win an election,” Baba-Ahmed told Trust TV.
Why he thinks Atiku is vulnerable
There are reports that the ADC may offer its 2027 ticket to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. Baba-Ahmed warned that President Bola Tinubu and the APC already know Atiku’s “political games” after defeating him in two elections.
“The APC knows how powerful Tinubu is. He patiently schemed for 16 years and finally became president in 2023. Any coalition must remember that,” he explained.
Baba-Ahmed praised Tinubu’s patience, noting that the president once set aside his own ambition to help Muhammadu Buhari win in 2015.
“I don’t see anyone in our coalition ready to plan or sacrifice like that,” he said.
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The former senator also argued that Peter Obi should lead the opposition ticket, not accept another vice-presidential slot.
“Peter Obi should not be a VP, having gotten a disputed 10 million votes,” he said.
Some politicians believe only a grand coalition can defeat Tinubu in 2027. Baba-Ahmed disagrees. He pointed to the 2023 election, where the Labour Party shook both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) without a formal alliance.
He said, “Coalition is good, but in 2023 we defeated APC and PDP. There was no coalition in Labour Party.”