The Director of Politics at Arise News, Sumner Sambo, has criticised former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed over his recent comments on the 2027 presidential election.
Sambo, speaking on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Monday, said Baba-Ahmed should be more cautious with his public statements and allow politicians actively participating in the 2027 contest to pursue their ambitions.
He described some of Baba-Ahmed’s recent comments as disjointed, particularly his suggestion that President Bola Tinubu should prepare to leave office but should not hand over power to any of the politicians currently challenging him.
Baba-Ahmed had at the weekend said none of the politicians challenging President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, including his former political ally Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had the capacity to improve or change Nigeria.
The former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate also disclosed that he warned Obi against joining the African Democratic Congress, ADC, but the former Anambra State governor ignored his advice and moved away from what he described as his political “comfort zone”.
Speaking on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, Baba-Ahmed said his political differences with Obi became more pronounced following the latter’s decision to join the ADC.
Reacting, Sambo said Baba-Ahmed’s comments appeared to undermine opposition politicians who had decided to challenge the incumbent president.
“I think he should sort of like be quiet a bit and let those who are in the field play the game that they are playing because some of the comments that he actually made just seem disjointed.
“I don’t know under a democracy what particular platform he would be using to actually ask a sitting president to hand over power to people who are not in the contest.
“We have a sitting president, there are contestants. So it beggars belief what exactly he was trying to aim at,” he said.
Sambo also cautioned Baba-Ahmed against making comments that could further heighten political tension in the country, noting that some of his statements, including those directed at Vice President Kashim Shettima, were particularly strong.
“He has a right to actually make political comments. But I will just plead with him to be very careful because the statement he made actually was denigrating to all the great presidential candidates that we actually have,” Sambo said.
He said opposition figures such as Obi, Atiku and other politicians seeking to challenge the incumbent deserved recognition for taking on the risks associated with contesting against a sitting president.
Sambo questioned why Baba-Ahmed, who was Obi’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election, had not declared his own presidential ambition if he believed the current opposition contenders lacked the capacity to lead Nigeria.
“In 2023, Datti was only a vice presidential candidate. If he had the guts to come out and challenge the process, including a sitting president, why didn’t he come out at this moment?” he asked.
2027: Be quiet, allow those in the field play the game – Arise TV’s Sambo tells Datti