I ran with Peter Obi out of sympathy after three top politicians rejected him- former Labour Party, VP candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed

Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the vice-presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has revealed that his decision to join Peter Obi’s ticket was primarily driven by sympathy. In a recent interview with Symfoni, Baba-Ahmed explained that he stepped into the role after observing that prominent politicians were unwilling to partner with the former Anambra State governor.

According to Baba-Ahmed, Obi had reached out to three major political figures in 2022, all of whom declined to run alongside him. He noted that he watched the situation unfold with concern, stating, “People don’t understand that between me and Obi, there is a great deal of sympathy. I have sympathy for him. And this sympathy was at the core of our relationship.”

Baba-Ahmed emphasized that his motivation was not merely personal ambition, but a desire to support a vision he believed was necessary for the nation. “When he approached three other major politicians in 2022, I would have been glad if one of them had gone with Peter Obi in 2022. But they all avoided him. I felt bad for him and I felt bad for Nigeria as a nation,” he explained.

He described his entry into the 2023 presidential race as a voluntary act intended to serve the national interest during a critical political juncture. “I took it upon myself because naturally I have always been a volunteer. For the sake of Nigeria, I extended that sympathy to him,” he said.

This revelation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the formation of the 2023 Labour Party ticket, which eventually became a central force in the election. Baba-Ahmed’s comments highlight the challenges Obi faced in building his political coalition at the time and the eventual partnership that defined the party’s campaign.