ABUJA, Nigeria — Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has called on President Bola Tinubu to prepare to leave office in 2027. He also dismissed the president’s leading challengers, saying none could improve Nigeria.
Baba-Ahmed made the remarks during an appearance on the MicOn Podcast published on Saturday, September 5, 2026.
The former lawmaker was the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 2023 and ran alongside Peter Obi.
Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress candidate, is seeking re-election, while Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress are among his challengers.
“I will simply advise uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him,” Baba-Ahmed said.
“Because none of them will improve Nigeria. All those people contesting against him too were all in bed together at some point or another — including Peter Obi. At some point, he was in PDP.”
Baba-Ahmed based his criticism on the political histories of the contenders.
He argued that each had previously worked within parties or administrations that contributed to the problems confronting the country.
He contrasted those records with his own, describing himself as the only politician among the prominent figures who had never belonged to a governing party.
“Tell me one politician who has never been in a ruling party. I’m the one. Have I ever been in a ruling party?” he said.
Baba-Ahmed acknowledged that he had belonged to the Congress for Progressive Change but said he resigned before it joined other parties to establish the APC.
“I have never been in a ruling party. When I was in CPC, it was a little opposition party,” he said.
The former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate also addressed the controversy over Tinubu’s records in the United States.
Baba-Ahmed questioned Atiku’s criticism of the president over the matter, arguing that the former vice-president had not previously pursued the issue with the same intensity.
He also accused Tinubu of weakening political parties during his administration.
Baba-Ahmed said his position was centred on creating a “new Nigeria” rather than transferring power to any of the prominent politicians currently seeking the presidency.
