Datti Baba-Ahmed Opens Up on Why He Teamed Up with Peter Obi for 2023 Presidential Election

In a recent interview with Symfoni, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, revealed that his decision to run alongside Peter Obi in the 2023 election was motivated by sympathy. According to Baba-Ahmed, Obi had initially approached three prominent politicians to be his running mate, but they all declined. This rejection moved Baba-Ahmed, who then chose to volunteer himself for the role, driven by a sense of sympathy for Obi and a desire to contribute to the country's political landscape. Baba-Ahmed expressed that he felt sorry for Obi and for Nigeria as a nation when the other politicians turned him down. He said, '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.' He further stated, 'I took it upon myself because naturally I have always been a volunteer. For the sake of Nigeria, I extended that sympathy to him.' Baba-Ahmed's decision to join Obi was thus a voluntary one, stemming from his inherent nature of being a volunteer and his concern for the country's well-being.