A former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has dismissed the prospect of a unified opposition candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, describing the idea as unrealistic.
Baba-Ahmed made the remarks on Tuesday during an appearance on Politics Today, where he reacted to the recent Ibadan Declaration by an opposition coalition proposing a single candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
According to him, the Ibadan meeting did not reflect a broad-based opposition consensus, noting that only the Peoples Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress were represented.
“I think it is a lie (unified opposition candidate). There is no way they will agree; it is not possible,” he said. “Two parties coming to say that they are the entire opposition in Ibadan doesn’t make sense to me.”
The Kaduna-born politician, who ran alongside Peter Obi under the Labour Party in 2023, further argued that the proposed coalition under the ADC would not succeed, even if Obi were to emerge as its presidential candidate.
“I have said it several times, and I don’t want to say it again because a good number of them are my friends, and they always get agitated when I say the facts about them; it will not fly,” he added.
Baba-Ahmed shifted focus to what he described as a deeper problem within Nigeria’s political system low citizen participation. He argued that many capable individuals avoid politics, thereby enabling poor governance to persist.
“Nigerians are complicit in the continuation of bad governance because we have no shortage of good people, we have no shortage of angels, but they keep shying away from politics,” he said.
He also accused the current administration of undermining opposition parties, alleging that efforts have been directed at weakening political rivals rather than addressing governance challenges such as security and the economy.
“Now you have a regime whose primary purpose has been the destabilisation of other political parties,” he added.