The 2023 vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said that a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, is free to fly the party’s flag in the 2027 presidential election with or without him as a running mate
Baba-Ahmed stated this when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.
“The Labour Party welcomes him to still come and retain the Labour Party ticket and contest in 2027 with or without me. And the ADC is welcome to adopt a southern candidate,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He also said that Nigeria needed a leader who would deliver governance and not disaster.
“We want capacity. We want compassion. We want people who will develop Nigeria, leaders that matter, leaders that deliver promises, not those who will promise governance and deliver disaster,” he added.
Baba-Ahmed said that Obi’s connection with the coalition, on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, was not an anti-party activity but an unfolding situation.
“This is not an anti-party activity. It is an unfolding situation. The meaning of a coalition is that political parties, interest groups, and individuals are coming together. It’s an unfolding situation.
“I attended coalition meetings. Peter Obi is welcome to continue to attend those coalition meetings,” Baba-Ahmed added.
On the issue of zoning, ahead of the 2027 presidential election, he said he was of the opinion that the South should produce the president.
Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is also one of the frontline leaders of the coalition, which recently adopted the ADC as its political platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections.
The coalition also has the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; former governors of Kaduna and Osun states, Nasir El-Rufai and Rauf Aregbesola, respectively, as members.
While the coalition says it can win the presidential election, the ruling APC says any coalition against President Tinubu will fail.
The ADC recently appointed a former Senate President, Senator David Mark, as the interim chairman and Aregbesola as the interim national secretary.
