Datti Baba-Ahmed Rules Out Peter Obi, Says Tinubu Won’t Make Top Three In ‘Free And Fair’ 2027 Election
Datti Baba-Ahmed Rules Out Peter Obi, Says Tinubu Won’t Make Top Three In ‘Free And Fair’ 2027 Election
The former senator made the remarks while responding to questions about the prospects of leading political figures expected to contest the 2027 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu.
Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has declared that former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, would emerge victorious in Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election if the poll is conducted in a free and fair manner.
Baba-Ahmed, who was the running mate of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in the 2023 election, ruled out the former Anambra governor in his assertion during a recent interview on the Symfoni Podcast, which was monitored by SaharaReporters.
The former senator made the remarks while responding to questions about the prospects of leading political figures expected to contest the 2027 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu.
Asked whether any of the leading opposition figures could defeat Tinubu in a free and fair election, Baba-Ahmed surprisingly endorsed Duke as the most likely winner.
“In a free and fair election, Donald Duke is the winner,” Baba-Ahmed said.
When the interviewer sought clarification and specifically asked whether not even Peter Obi could emerge victorious, Baba-Ahmed doubled down on his position.
“I’m serious. In a free and fair election in Nigeria, Donald Duke is the winner,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed insisted that his position was not based on prophecy or personal prediction but on his assessment of Nigeria’s political realities.
“I’m not a soothsayer. Nowhere close to a prophet. I didn’t dream. What I’m telling you is not a prediction. I’m not a prophet. Nothing close to that,” he said.
Recalling past political forecasts he claimed to have made accurately, Baba-Ahmed said he predicted former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s emergence as president while the latter was still in prison.
“Before April 1998, Baba Obasanjo was in prison. I have witnesses that I said he would be president and he became president. I have predicted two speakers and they became speakers,” he stated.
Despite that history, Baba-Ahmed maintained that his comments about Duke were not prophetic.
“But in a free and fair election in Nigeria, you say free and fair first. You will not find Tinubu in the first three. Donald Duke is likely to be the winner,” he said.
According to him, Duke possesses qualities that could make him Nigeria’s next president if
he decides to contest and runs an effective campaign.
“As a human being, an ordinary Nigerian, I’m telling you, if Donald Duke contests the Nigerian presidency in 2027 and does the right things, he’s easily the next president. He doesn’t have any structure,” Baba-Ahmed said.
The former lawmaker also criticised what he described as attempts to use religion to justify injustice or political wrongdoing.
“The world of Islam has never suffered reputational damage and this must not continue. Nobody should use the name of God, the name of any religion, to serve injustice to others,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed’s comments are likely to generate controversy within the opposition camp, particularly among supporters of Peter Obi, given his prominent role in the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential campaign.
