Baba-Ahmed To Atiku: Step Aside For Younger Leaders, ‘During My NYSC You Were An Aspirant’
Datti Baba-Ahmed, former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has said that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been contesting for Nigeria’s presidency since his days as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Baba-Ahmed called on Atiku, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to allow a new generation of leaders to take over the nation’s political space and bring fresh ideas to address Nigeria’s challenges.
Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, Baba-Ahmed criticised what he described as the expensive nature of Atiku’s style of politics, saying it discourages younger politicians with innovative ideas.
“When I was doing my NYSC, Baba Atiku was an aspirant, and in 2018 we contested primaries together. In 2023, we contested again — I as a vice-presidential candidate elsewhere when his vice president had left him. For God’s sake, in 2027 again?” Baba-Ahmed said.
He stressed the need for generational change in Nigerian leadership, noting that capable individuals exist but are being pushed away by the current political system.
“There is the 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,” he said.
According to him, many competent citizens are discouraged by what he described as an expensive, difficult, and treacherous political system dominated by godfathers and broken promises.
“There are people capable of solving Nigeria’s problems, but they are discouraged by the system. However, there are good Nigerians looking for that leader who will lead them to fix Nigeria,” he added.
Atiku Abubakar recently resigned from the PDP and joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he is expected to use as his platform for the 2027 presidential election.
The ADC also includes other prominent political figures, such as Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, and Chibuike Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State.
