Baba-Ahmed reveals what he told Peter Obi before joining ADC

Datti Baba-Ahmed, Peter Obi's running mate in the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, revealed in a recent interview that he had cautioned Obi against joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) prior to the 2027 polls. The matter came to light during a conversation on the MIC ON Podcast, where Baba-Ahmed was questioned about any shifts in his views on Obi since they campaigned together in 2023.

According to Baba-Ahmed, he had personally approached Obi at the Yar’Adua Centre, expressing his reservations about the ADC. "When he was going to join ADC, I had to go to Yar’Adua Centre ahead of him, I called him aside. They were worried," he recalled. Baba-Ahmed went on to detail the reasons he provided Obi, stating that joining the ADC was not suitable for his political aspirations.

"And I told him, ‘This is the last time I’m coming to this place. I gave him my reasons. This is not a place for you.' Was I wrong? I was proven right," he said, pointing to Obi's subsequent departure from the ADC as proof of Baba-Ahmed's foresight. Baba-Ahmed also noted that Obi had since reneged on his earlier stance, expressing discomfort with the ADC's political conduct.

"Now, I don’t like people who contradict themselves, and I don’t want to go into criticising again the politics of Atiku because that’s not what I'm about," he said. Baba-Ahmed claimed he could not have helped Obi remain in the Labour Party if Obi hadn’t heeded his advice. "Peter Obi moved out of his comfort zone against my advice.

Beyond that point, I could no longer help him," he concluded. Obi and Baba-Ahmed shared the Labour Party's presidential and vice-presidential tickets in the 2023 general election, finishing third behind Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party.