Datti Baba-Ahmed Rejects Idea of Peter Obi Running as Atiku’s Vice President in 2027

Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, has strongly opposed the idea of Peter Obi becoming a running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential race.

In an interview with Arise News, Baba-Ahmed argued that Nigeria’s unwritten zoning arrangement—which balances presidential power between the North and the South—should allow the South to complete an eight-year term following President Bola Tinubu’s administration. On that basis, he believes the next president should also come from the South.

“Peter Obi should not be a vice president,” Baba-Ahmed insisted. “Having gotten a disputed 10 million votes, now you’re starting to understand what I mean. He is too prominent a figure to play second fiddle.”

The business mogul also dismissed the growing push for a political coalition ahead of the 2027 elections, downplaying its importance and questioning the strategy behind such moves.

“There’s this narrative being sold—that to defeat Tinubu, it must be through a coalition,” he said. “Coalition is good, but in 2023, the Labour Party defeated both APC and PDP without one.”

According to him, the real coalition should happen at the ballot box—not among politicians.

“You don’t need a coalition of politicians that only creates room for the APC to exploit with propaganda,” he said. “What you need is a credible candidate, a credible ticket, and votes that are protected all the way to the declaration stage.”

He added, “There is no law or principle that mandates a political coalition. What matters is the people’s support at the polls.”

Baba-Ahmed maintained that Peter Obi’s popularity and the movement he inspired in 2023 are proof that meaningful political change can come from the grassroots—without elite pacts or power-sharing deals.