‘Only Atiku can easily get ADC presidential ticke’ — Ex-Tinubu Aide, Baba-Ahmed

Former Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has asserted that securing the African Democratic Congress (ADC)’s 2027 presidential ticket will be a tough contest for any aspirant except former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

As reported by Naija News, Baba-Ahmed made the remarks during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Thursday.

According to him, the political chances of Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s flagbearer in the 2023 election, are being weakened by the conduct of some of his supporters.

He warned that persistent online attacks and abusive commentary could damage Obi’s credibility within a democratic system.

Baba-Ahmed advised Obi to caution his followers and approach the 2027 race with a more measured and strategic mindset.

He acknowledged Obi’s extensive travels and engagements, noting that the former Anambra governor has remained active at the grassroots level.

However, he stressed that Obi must now confront the reality of competing with seasoned political heavyweights equally determined to clinch the ADC ticket.

He urged Obi to follow Atiku’s example by openly appealing to his supporters to avoid hostility and inflammatory exchanges.

Quoting Baba-Ahmed, he said:
“I think Peter Obi, all these people and himself are not helping his case. What he really needs to do, I think, is to go out and soil his boots.

I think he’s the most traveled politician I’ve seen in recent times, and that’s good for him. He tried to stay in touch with grassroots, which is good for him, but what he needs to do now is to really sit down with these people and come to terms with the fact that he is now running against hard line politicians who also have their eyes on the same thing that he has his eyes on.

“What Vice President Atiku did in terms of saying to his people, calm down. We don’t want to start trading insults with each other was the right thing Peter Obi should do twice as much.

I did a program two or three days ago where I mentioned the fact that Peter Obi would lose 100 conventions. You will be amazed at the number of people who commented and insulted me and say, Oh, look at these people. How do they think Peter will line up behind Atiku?

“I’m afraid, in the democratic process, that’s how it’s done there. You can have a consensus candidate, but you need to have the consensus of people like Atiku, maybe even Amaechi.

And maybe there are one or two dark horses who are working behind the scene. The problem, the point is that ADC’s ticket is up for grabs, but it will be a very, very difficult task for anybody to get it, other than Atiku.”