Okonkwo to Datti Baba-Ahmed: Saying Tinubu, Shettima, Others Are Unfit To Lead Is Call For Constitutional Crisis

Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign, has accused former Labour Party presidential running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, of advocating a constitutional crisis by suggesting that President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and other political contenders are not fit to lead Nigeria.

Datti on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye said that none of the politicians contesting against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election can improve Nigeria, including his former running mate, Peter Obi.

“I will simply advise uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him because none of them will improve Nigeria,” he said.

Asked to clarify whether he was referring to all the opposition candidates, Baba-Ahmed said, “None of that part. Tinubu should leave the stage. All those people were contesting against him, too; they were all in bed together at some point or another.”

When the host asked whether he was referring to Peter Obi, Baba-Ahmed replied, “Including Peter Obi, I’m sorry to say.”

Okonkwo, reacting to the comments by Datti on Arise Television on Tuesday, said democracy provides for the peaceful transfer of power to whoever emerges victorious through an election.

He said, “In a democracy, you can only transition power peacefully to whoever wins the election. So if none of the contenders is fit, and the incumbent and the vice are not fit, that is a constitutional crisis.”

Okonkwo said Baba-Ahmed’s conclusion was contradictory to the constitutional process he claimed to be defending, describing the position as misplaced.

The former Labour Party chieftain, however, said he had great respect for Baba-Ahmed, noting that both men were involved in the same political movement during the 2023 presidential election.

“I have great respect for Datti Baba-Ahmed. We were in the same trenches in 2023,” Okonkwo said.

He nevertheless disagreed with Baba-Ahmed’s assessment of Peter Obi, saying his former political associate may be experiencing what he described as a “post-political identity crisis” following the collapse of the political expectations generated by the Labour Party’s 2023 campaign.

Okonkwo argued that many supporters entered the 2023 movement with the belief that they were working towards building a new Nigeria and were prepared to contribute resources and personal efforts to the cause.

He said the eventual crisis within the Labour Party left many of those supporters disappointed.

According to him, the experience exposed what he described as “incompetence and incapacity” on the part of Obi to effectively manage the affairs of the political movement.

“We all came in in 2023 with high hopes. And we thought that a new Nigeria is bettered,” he said.

“For the first time in my life, I saw people coming into an association for what they can give. And nobody was talking about what he can take, what he can receive.

“So if such an association, an organisation, ends the way the Labour Party ended, you will see everybody coming out with political trauma.”

Okonkwo maintained that supporters had been willing to provide resources and support, but what they ultimately expected from the political leadership was effective leadership.

“They were only asking for one thing, and that’s leadership. And you could not provide it,” he said.

He also rejected the suggestion that Baba-Ahmed had specifically dismissed every presidential contender, arguing that the comments should be examined in their proper context.

Okonkwo said Baba-Ahmed had specifically mentioned Peter Obi and, according to him, had questioned their ability to improve Nigeria, while failing to endorse his own presidential candidate, Donald Duke.