A former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has claimed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar could have positioned himself to win the 2027 presidential election if he had supported Peter Obi’s presidential bid in 2023 instead of contesting against him.
Speaking during an appearance on Inside Sources on Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed argued that Atiku missed an opportunity to build long-term political goodwill by backing younger politicians and waiting for his turn, a strategy he said President Bola Tinubu had successfully employed over the years.
According to him, had Atiku thrown his weight behind Obi and the Labour Party ticket in 2023, he would have been prepared to support the former vice president’s presidential ambition in 2027.
“If in 2023 elections, he took everyone by surprise, played the kind of things Tinubu would typically do, call Peter Obi and me and say, ‘Hey, guys, you are my juniors, I’ll support you guys. No 2027 for you,’ Wallahi, I would have agreed, and I would have told Peter Obi to agree, and Atiku would have been the 2027 president of Nigeria if so had happened,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He, however, suggested that some politicians become consumed by presidential ambitions, adding: “But once they enter that trance, they tend to see themselves as President.”
The former senator pointed to Tinubu’s political trajectory as an example of patience and strategic alliance-building. He noted that the president had, at different times, provided political platforms for other aspirants while waiting for his own opportunity to seek the presidency.
“He didn’t mind to plan for that long. When in 2007, he gave a platform to Atiku, we knew what he was doing,” Baba-Ahmed said, adding that Tinubu’s support for key political figures over the years ultimately strengthened his own presidential project.
According to him, Tinubu’s patience was rewarded in 2023, a quality he believes is lacking among many politicians currently seeking power.
“That patience, those in this group (coalition), except Amaechi, don’t have it. Amaechi seems to have been biding his time,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed also criticised opposition coalition leaders, saying he had previously warned them against overconfidence ahead of the 2027 elections.
“They didn’t have a Buhari, this coalition. And I told them if you don’t have a decent outlier, people will find it difficult to rally around him. Did they listen to me? They took offence,” he stated.
He further warned that President Tinubu’s political experience and understanding of power dynamics could pose a significant challenge to opposition efforts ahead of the next general election.
