Atiku Has Been Contesting Since My NYSC Days- Datti Baba-Ahmed Says

The Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been seeking Nigeria’s presidency since his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) days.

Baba-Ahmed made the remark during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, recalling that Atiku was already a presidential aspirant during his service year.

He argued that Nigeria needs a new generation of leaders, noting that many capable citizens are willing to address the country’s challenges but are discouraged by what he described as an expensive and difficult political system dominated by godfathers and unfulfilled promises.

According to him, “When I was doing my NYSC, Baba Atiku was an aspirant, and in 2018, we contested the primaries together. In 2023, we contested again, with me as a vice-presidential candidate elsewhere, when his vice president had left him. And, for God’s sake, in 2027 again.

“There is a need for a new generation of Nigerian leaders, and they do exist. A whole new generation is waiting for a new leader to lead them to a new party.

“There are good Nigerians capable of solving Nigeria’s problems, but they are discouraged by an expensive, difficult and treacherous system filled with godfathers and broken promises.”

The Labour Party chieftain also dismissed claims that he had declared interest in contesting the 2027 presidential election.

He clarified that he only reaffirmed his membership of the Labour Party and did not announce any presidential ambition.

“I never declared to contest the presidency, even though there could be a possibility of that happening. I certainly did not declare for the presidency. I simply reiterated my membership of the Labour Party,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed added that decisions on future elections would depend on the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the position of the party, urging the public to ignore what he described as sensational narratives circulating on social media.