Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, has revealed that he cautioned Peter Obi against joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during an interview on the *MIC ON Podcast*, Baba-Ahmed stated that the former Anambra State governor ignored his advice and stepped outside his political “comfort zone,” only to exit the party four months later.
Baba-Ahmed recalled pulling Obi aside at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja prior to his joining the party to express his strong reservations.
“When he was going to join ADC, I had to go to Yar’Adua Centre ahead of him and call him aside,” Baba-Ahmed said. “I told him, ‘This is the last time I’m coming to this place. This is not a place for you.’ Was I wrong? I was proven right. Within four months, Peter Obi left ADC.”
He added that Obi’s decision to depart from his established political stance made it difficult to offer further political guidance, noting his personal aversion to political inconsistency.
“Peter Obi moved out of his comfort zone against my advice. Beyond that point, I could no longer help him,” he said.
The pair ran on a joint Labour Party ticket in 2023, placing third behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Criticism of Past and Present Administrations
Turning to national governance, Baba-Ahmed delivered a stern assessment of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, describing it as the most corrupt government in Nigeria’s history.
Reacting to current economic policies under President Bola Tinubu—including the removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign exchange unification—the former lawmaker argued that structural economic reforms would remain ineffective as long as corruption persists.
“Whatever policy, however beautiful it is, that is laced with corruption will never work,” Baba-Ahmed insisted. “Why did Buhari fail so spectacularly? It’s because of corruption. May his soul rest in peace, but there has never been a corrupt and immoral government like Buhari’s.”
He further alleged that the 2023 general election lacked credibility, claiming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) compromised the integrity of the poll by disabling its electronic results viewing portal (IReV) and resorting to manual collation.
Warning that current reform efforts risk similar failure, Baba-Ahmed maintained that policy implementation under the Tinubu administration would yield little progress unless corrupt
