Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has disclosed that sympathy for Peter Obi and the state of the nation, rather than ideological alignment, drove his decision to accept the VP slot ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
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Baba-Ahmed said this during an interview with media outlet Symfoni, captured in a video circulating on Wednesday.
The former vice-presidential candidate explained that Obi had approached three other prominent politicians, all of whom declined to partner with him.
Feeling compassion for both Obi and Nigeria, he said he stepped in as a “volunteer for the sake of Nigeria.”
“They thought I would follow Peter Obi. Now, people don’t understand that between me and Obi, there’s a great deal of sympathy. I have sympathy for him,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He added, “When he approached three other major politicians in 2021, they avoided him. I would have been glad if, in 2022, one of them went with Peter Obi. But they all avoided him. I felt bad for him. I felt bad for Nigeria as a nation… I took it upon myself because, naturally, I’ve always been a volunteer for the sake of Nigeria. I extended that sympathy.”
Baba-Ahmed, who recently defected from the Labour Party to the Peoples Redemption Party in May 2026, used the interview to draw a clear line between himself and his former running mate.
He emphasised that his support had limits and that Obi does not control his political future.
“They thought I would follow Peter Obi. But I had given enough sympathy there… With due respect, he does not own my politics. He does not own me. I am independent,” he stated.
Like Baba-Ahmed, Obi defected first to ADC and later to NDC.
When he left the Labour Party, the former Anambra governor cited internal crises within the party.
However, the former senator said internal challenges within the LP are not enough reason for Obi to defect.
“I mean, if (Julius) Aburi was a problem, what makes him think the David Mark of ADC will not be a problem?
“What makes him think the chairman of Seriake (Senator Seriake Dickson) of NDC will not be a problem? So it’s the same thing wherever you go. Stay here and fix this problem. Now, let’s work together.
“And he decided to move. Now, with due respect, he does not own my politics. He does not own me. I am independent.”
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