Datti Baba-Ahmed says Peter Obi lacked a clear plan for Nigeria, explaining why their political paths diverged ahead of the 2027 election
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, has offered a pointed explanation for his political separation from Peter Obi, saying he left because he believed Obi had not developed a clear plan for Nigeria.
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Baba-Ahmed, who was Obi’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election, made the comments in a recent interview with Symfoni as political realignments intensify ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential contest.
The remarks add a revealing layer to the changing relationship between two politicians who once campaigned together under the Labour Party banner and became the faces of a powerful third-force movement in 2023.
Baba-Ahmed said his criticism should not be interpreted as a rejection of Obi personally.
Rather, he presented the split as the consequence of political disagreements that had accumulated over time.
“Peter Obi knows I stood for him. I still stand by him, and it is regretful those moves he made. But it is his choice,” Baba-Ahmed said, according to the interview reported by Naija News.
He also rejected the suggestion that Obi had simply dropped him after their 2023 campaign.
“On 31st of January, 2024, I told him, sir, I need you to have a plan, and you don’t have it. At least I haven’t heard from you,” Baba-Ahmed said.
The comments are consistent with criticism Baba-Ahmed has made publicly since Obi’s departure from the Labour Party.
In May, Baba-Ahmed said Obi should have remained within the party and worked to resolve its internal problems rather than leave during a period of crisis.
“If in 2024 you cannot plan 2027, I’m sorry, I cannot continue to be with you,” Baba-Ahmed said at the time.
That disagreement became more pronounced after Obi moved towards the ADC as part of the opposition realignment ahead of 2027.
Baba-Ahmed had earlier warned Obi against joining the party, telling him that the platform was not suitable for his political ambitions. Obi subsequently left the ADC after a relatively short period, according to Baba-Ahmed’s account.
The political paths of the two men have since become markedly different.
Baba-Ahmed announced in April that he was leaving the Labour Party for the Peoples Redemption Party, citing internal disagreements and what he described as a departure from the principles on which the Labour Party had been founded.
Obi, meanwhile, has remained at the centre of opposition discussions surrounding the 2027 election, including efforts involving the ADC and other opposition figures.
The disagreement is notable because of the strength of the Obi-Baba-Ahmed partnership during the 2023 election.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, selected Baba-Ahmed as his running mate after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party and joining the Labour Party in 2022.
Their ticket ultimately finished third in the 2023 presidential election.
Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress won with 8,794,726 votes, followed by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party with 6,984,520. Obi secured 6,101,533 votes.
The result nevertheless represented a remarkable breakthrough for the Labour Party, which had not previously been regarded as one of Nigeria’s dominant presidential platforms.
Obi won several states and the Federal Capital Territory, helping to build the nationwide political movement that became known as the Obidient movement.
Baba-Ahmed has since become increasingly willing to question whether that political momentum can translate into national power without a broader organisational and policy strategy.
In January, he described politicians who left Labour alongside Obi as “political travellers” and declared that he would not simply follow his former principal into another party.
By May, his criticism had become more specific. He questioned whether an alliance involving Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso could command sufficient support, particularly in northern Nigeria, and recalled advising Obi as early as January 2024 to engage other opposition figures.
Yet Baba-Ahmed’s latest comments also contain a striking element of restraint. While questioning Obi’s preparedness and political decisions, he has stopped short of presenting their relationship as a personal feud.
He has also sought to distinguish his position from outright support for President Bola Tinubu.
In a separate interview, Baba-Ahmed said he did not want to give Obi or Atiku Abubakar an unfair political advantage by urging Tinubu to leave office while promoting alternative candidates he did not support.
The position reflects the complicated landscape confronting Nigeria’s opposition ahead of 2027.
Former allies are negotiating new platforms, alliances remain fluid and politicians who campaigned together in 2023 are now pursuing markedly different strategies.
For Baba-Ahmed, the central issue appears to be less about personal loyalty than preparation.
His message is that political goodwill, however powerful, cannot substitute for a coherent programme capable of addressing Nigeria’s economic, security and institutional challenges.
For Obi, whose 2023 campaign transformed him into a major national opposition figure, the criticism presents a familiar but consequential challenge: converting a strong popular following into a political organisation and governing proposition capable of convincing a broader electorate.
Also read: NDC Says Attacks Will Not Stop 2027 Election Bid
As the 2027 contest approaches, the increasingly candid exchanges between the former running mates offer an unusually intimate glimpse into the disagreements behind Nigeria’s evolving opposition landscape.
