Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, on Wednesday, January 7, publicly declared his intention to run for president in 2027, stepping into an opposition field already being reshaped by defections and coalition talks.
Baba-Ahmed made the announcement at a rally at the Labour Party national secretariat in Abuja, coming about a week after former presidential candidate Peter Obi left the party for the African Democratic Congress, an exit that has intensified questions about Labour’s direction ahead of the next general election.
Speaking to party members and supporters, Baba-Ahmed said his ambition was not a response to Obi’s move and was not tied to any individual’s political path.
He said, “I have made myself to contest for the office in 2027. I’m not following anybody’s trajectory or stepping into anybody’s shoes.
“Can I please remind you that before His Excellency Governor Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I aspired for the presidency before him? The records are there for you to see.”
He also revisited his earlier attempts at pursuing a presidential ticket, recalling his participation in a primary contest years before he teamed up with Obi in 2023.
“In October 2018, I participated in the primaries of the then PDP in Port Harcourt and walked to Obi for his vote, and he smiled at me. What a gentleman he was.
“If you heard me well in what I just submitted, I saw a rare opportunity for national unity to have elected Peter Obi in 2023. And that is why I decided to flow with it,” he said.
Addressing recurring debates around identity politics, Baba-Ahmed insisted his religion and ethnicity do not disqualify him from seeking office under Nigeria’s constitution.
“Yes, I am a practising Muslim. But I’m a Nigerian, and the constitution allows me to contest. You asked about my ethnicity.
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“Yes, I am a Hausa man, and the Nigerian constitution also allows me to contest. I’m doing this because Nigeria needs help,” he said.
Still, he said he would follow formal processes before going further.
“However, as a law-abiding citizen and a loyal party member, until the timetable is released by INEC and the leadership of the Labour Party calls for interested aspirants, I will not say anything about it. But remember I told you that Nigerians know the truth,” he stated.
Labour Party National Chairman Julius Abure welcomed the declaration, praising Baba-Ahmed for staying despite speculation he might leave after Obi’s exit.
Abure said, “Only recently, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, told the world that he joined the party before Peter Obi did – this is true. Otti also said he was not going to defect to Peter Obi.
“On the night Peter Obi defected, I received a telephone call from our Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed.
“He said he is not leaving the party because it was the platform upon which he, along with the former candidate, received 10 million votes from Nigerians, which was reduced to 6 million votes. We all know what happened.”
Abure added that Baba-Ahmed proposed a unity meeting for party stakeholders.
“In fact, he asked me to organise an event where members can come together. He first suggested that we meet at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel with a few senior members that he would foot the bill.
“But I suggested that we hold the event here at the party Secretariat and invite our members, artisans and ordinary people who truly own the party, and he agreed. That is why we are having this gathering here today.
“The Labour Party is intact, we will not let Nigerians down. We will remain together and provide a genuine alternative for Nigerians,” he said.