I joined Peter Obi’s 2023 ticket because I felt sorry for him, says Baba-Ahmed

Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said that his sympathy for Peter Obi and Nigeria made him accept the VP position for the 2023 presidential election. He said this in an interview with media outlet Symfoni, which was shared on Wednesday.

Baba-Ahmed explained that Obi had asked three other well-known politicians to join him, but they all turned him down. Out of pity for both Obi and Nigeria, he said he chose to step in as a “volunteer for the sake of Nigeria.”

“They thought I would follow Peter Obi. Now, people don’t understand that between me and Obi, there’s a great deal of sympathy. I have sympathy for him,” Baba-Ahmed said.

He continued, “When he approached three other major politicians in 2021, they avoided him. I would have been glad if, in 2022, one of them went with Peter Obi. But they all avoided him. I felt bad for him. I felt bad for Nigeria as a nation… I took it upon myself because, naturally, I’ve always been a volunteer for the sake of Nigeria. I extended that sympathy.”

Separation from Peter Obi

Baba-Ahmed, who switched from the Labour Party to the Peoples Redemption Party in May 2026, used the interview to show he is different from his former running mate. He made it clear that his support has limits and that Obi does not control his political future.

“They thought I would follow Peter Obi. But I had given enough sympathy there… With due respect, he does not own my politics. He does not own me. I am independent,” he stated.

Like Baba-Ahmed, Obi also changed parties, first moving to the ADC and then to the NDC. When he left the Labour Party, the former Anambra governor said there were problems within the party.

But Baba-Ahmed argued that the challenges in the LP are not enough reason for Obi to switch parties.

“I mean, if (Julius) Aburi was a problem, what makes him think the David Mark of ADC will not be a problem? What makes him think the chairman of Seriake (Senator Seriake Dickson) of NDC will not be a problem? So it’s the same thing wherever you go. Stay here and fix this problem. Now, let’s work together.

“And he decided to move. Now, with due respect, he does not own my politics. He does not own me. I am independent.”