A former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar would have secured victory in the 2027 presidential election if he had supported Peter Obi during the 2023 polls.
Baba-Ahmed made the comment during an interview on Inside Sources on Channels Television, adding that if Atiku had acted with patience and political strategy similar to President Bola Tinubu, he would have stepped down in 2027 and also encouraged Obi to do the same.
“If in 2023 elections, he took everyone by surprise, played the kind of things Tinubu would typically do, call Peter Obi and me and say, ‘Hey, guys, you are my juniors, I’ll support you guys. No 2027 for you,’ Wallahi, I would have agreed, and I would have told Peter Obi to agree, and Atiku would have been the 2027 president of Nigeria if so had happened.
“But once they enter that trance, they tend to see themselves as President,” he said.
The former lawmaker compared Tinubu’s political patience to Atiku’s approach, noting that Tinubu had previously supported other politicians with platforms for presidential contests.
“He (Tinubu) didn’t mind to plan for that long. When in 2007, he gave a platform to Atiku, we knew what he was doing; it was not just the time for the South-West.
“Uncle Tinubu does that a lot; he knows how to tie you with your own rope. ‘You just served eight years as Vice President. You want to come to my party? Please, take my party.’
“And he used it against him in the 2023 elections, because you tell those people that this is the man I gave a platform and he has already promised me that whenever it’s my turn, he will not challenge,” the former vice presidential candidate said.
“That is enough for the deciders to read the judgment that was given. Then in 2011, he gave another; then in 2015, he saw Baba Buhari, and then he calculated that since it is now North for eight years, like I said, he was patient.
“And that patience, those in this group (coalition), except Amaechi, don’t have it. Amaechi seems to have been biding his time, but the real topshot over there, if only he were able to wait, measure, play things out,” he added.
Baba-Ahmed also warned the opposition coalition against overconfidence, saying Tinubu understands their political strategy and could easily counter it.
“They didn’t have a Buhari, this coalition. And I told them if you don’t have a decent outlier, people will find it difficult to rally around him. Did they listen to me? They took offence,” he said.