Vice-Presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 elections, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has expressed shock that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is still seeking Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Datti recalled that Atiku has been seeking to occupy the highest office in the land since his (Datti) National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) days.
Baba-Ahmed made the remark yesterday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
He noted that the country needs a new generation of leaders, adding that many capable citizens are willing to address the country’s challenges but are discouraged by what he described as an expensive and difficult political system dominated by godfathers and unfulfilled promises.
According to him, “When I was doing my NYSC, Baba Atiku was an aspirant, and in 2018, we contested the primaries together. In 2023, we contested again, with me as a vice-presidential candidate elsewhere, when his vice president had left him. And, for God’s sake, in 2027 again.
“There is a need for a new generation of Nigerian leaders, and they do exist. A whole new generation is waiting for a new leader to lead them to a new party.
There are good Nigerians capable of solving Nigeria’s problems, but they are discouraged by an expensive, difficult and treacherous system filled with godfathers and broken promises.”
The Labour Party chieftain also dismissed claims that he had declared interest in contesting the 2027 presidential election.
He clarified that he only reaffirmed his membership of the Labour Party and did not announce any presidential ambition.
I never declared to contest the presidency, even though there could be a possibility of that happening. I certainly did not declare for the presidency. I simply reiterated my membership of the Labour Party,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed added that decisions on future elections would depend on the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the position of the party, urging the public to ignore what he described as sensational narratives circulating on social media.
Meanwhile, the All Progressive Congress, APC has denied viral online reports that its former National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu has defected to the opposition African Democratic Congress, ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The report, circulated online on Thursday, claimed that Adamu’s alleged defection was “neither sudden nor accidental, but the culmination of months of deepening rifts, quiet consultations, and growing dissatisfaction with the internal direction of the APC at both national and state levels. As a founding pillar of the ruling party and one of its most influential power brokers since 2015, Adamu’s exit would represent a symbolic and strategic blow to the APC’s cohesion.”
Debunking the rumour yesterday, the APC in Nasarawa State said Adamu is still a committed member of the party.
A statement signed by the party’s state organizing secretary and coordinator of the APC e-membership registration exercise, Barr Hassan Abubakar, a copy made available to our correspondent yesterday in Lafia, described the rumour as unfounded and mischievous.
The statement reads: “We state categorically and without any ambiguity that this claim is false, malicious, and deliberately concocted to mislead the public and sow seeds of confusion within the APC family.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Senator (Dr) Abdullahi Adamu, CON remains a steadfast, committed and card-carrying member of the APC. At no time did he defect, contemplate defection, or associate himself with any other political party.
“The photograph being mischievously circulated online was taken during the ongoing APC e-membership registration and revalidation exercise, a nationwide programme aimed at strengthening the party’s database and consolidating internal democracy.
The said image clearly captures Senator Adamu revalidating his APC membership, in full alignment with the party’s constitutional processes and reform agenda.
“It is therefore irresponsible, intellectually dishonest and politically desperate for faceless individuals and their sponsors to twist a legitimate party activity into a false narrative of defection. Such acts amount to deliberate misinformation and an affront to political decency.
“Senator Abdullahi Adamu’s pedigree, sacrifices, and towering contributions to the growth and stability of the APC are well documented and need no validation from purveyors of fake news. His loyalty to the APC is unquestionable, unshaken, and unwavering.
We call on party members, the media, and the general public to disregard this falsehood in its entirety” the statement added
Adamu, had in a newspaper report dismissed his rumoured defection to the APC as false and a social media attempt to attract attention, saying “I am not an ungrateful politician.”
“Don’t mind the social media reporter. They want to draw me out, but I have nothing to tell anybody. I am not an ungrateful politician. I served at the highest level of my party, and I am where I am today,” the former APC chair was quoted to have said.
A similar report about Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed planning to defect to the ADC has also been debunked by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
The state PDP Chairman, Hon. Sama’ila Adamu Burga, described the defection claims as fake, baseless and politically motivated in a statement issued yesterday.
