Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the former running mate of Peter Obi in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, has highlighted the challenge facing the opposition coalition, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing it as being filled with individuals harbouring presidential ambitions.
The ADC coalition comprises several prominent political figures, including former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, ex-Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, ex-Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and former Senate President David Mark, among others, DAILY POST reports.
In an interview with Trust TV, Baba-Ahmed noted that unlike previous political alliances, the ADC lacks a unifying figure similar to Bola Tinubu, who, in past elections, suppressed his own ambitions to support candidates like Atiku in 2007 or Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
“The coalition is full of options and resources, but the downside is that it is also full of ambitions,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He stressed that managing these ambitions carefully is essential for the coalition’s longevity and success in Nigerian politics.
Baba-Ahmed also expressed concern over the coalition’s apparent lack of a clear strategy to defeat President Tinubu, emphasising that his remarks are not intended as criticism but as constructive observation.
“If you do business as usual against a sitting government like Tinubu’s, the person would not win,” he warned, adding that the coalition must think “outside the box.” He argued that to achieve what seems impossible, an equally unprecedented strategy is necessary.
Highlighting how Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have a well-established approach to countering Atiku Abubakar, Baba-Ahmed advised the ADC not to field Atiku as its presidential candidate in 2027.
“If you bring Atiku, they know how to work against Atiku, and he is welcome to win. If he wins, we will support him. You need a candidate they cannot understand, someone they do not know where to catch — that is how to win an election,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed concluded by urging the ADC to present a candidate capable of securing victory in the 2027 presidential elections, similar to the APC’s approach when Muhammadu Buhari was chosen as its candidate in 2015.
READ ALSO:
