2027: Atiku, Tinubu should not run – Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Vice President Kashim Shettima, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, not to contest the 2027 presidential election.

Dr Baba-Ahmed, who is also a former spokesperson of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), made the call on Thursday while speaking on Politics Today, a live interview programme on Channels Television.

Recall that Baba-Ahmed had, in a recent open letter to President Tinubu, urged him not to seek re-election.

He had stated: “Step aside — not for your opponents, but for a new generation of Nigerians who can carry the nation forward with fresh energy and ideas…

“Our generation has done its time. It would be a masterstroke if you and your party yielded the field to new voices and new leadership.

“That way, you could catalyse a peaceful, historic transformation and inspire a new political culture rooted in merit, unity, and progress.”

Speaking again on Thursday, Baba-Ahmed maintained that history would be fair to President Tinubu if he used his political influence and leadership of the ruling party to support a younger candidate in 2027.

He said: “I have no problem in his being legitimately elected as president. But history will be fair to him, even at the states, he galvanised his governors to look for younger ones. He should also not run.
“They said he governed Lagos very well for 8 years, but I don’t know.”

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Asked why he chose to write an open letter to Tinubu, Baba-Ahmed revealed that he never had the opportunity to meet the president during his one year and six months in office.

He added that he would not have been able to tell Tinubu to his face not to run in 2027, admitting he would have “developed cold feet” if he had met him.

When asked why he also called on Atiku not to contest, the former ACF spokesperson insisted that Atiku should equally take on a statesmanlike role by supporting a younger candidate.

“If PDP were to pick a younger person with less baggage, they will give APC a good fight,” he said.

Commenting on the ongoing wave of defections to the ruling APC, Baba-Ahmed stated that opposition governors and party chieftains were seeking protection from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“APC is becoming a refugee camp. The people running to APC from PDP have political baggage.”

He, however, dismissed reports of a rift between President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, stating that both men were working perfectly well together.

The ACF chieftain also restated the concerns of Northern Nigeria and its expectations from the Tinubu-led administration.

He said: “The ACF wants Tinubu to fix Northern problems. We demand more attention to the problems: insecurity is rising, poverty is rising and we are literally reduced to voters. Every region of the country is suffering but the North is suffering more than other regions.

“We want a president who will work for the North and the rest of the country.”

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