Former vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed, has warned opposition coalition figures that they risk playing President Bola Tinubu’s game by rushing into alliance-building without clear structures or consensus.

Naijaonpoint reports that in an interview on ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Baba Ahmed likened the opposition coalition, which adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 elections, to the coalition formed in 2014 that led to the birth of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Baba-Ahmed clarified he has not exited the Labour Party, despite a conversation with the opposition coalition.

He said his approach is cautious and strategic, stressing that he is closely watching the coalition’s body language before making any move.

Datti also warned that the Labour Party should not be discarded like an afterthought, noting that it played a pivotal role in reviving hope during the last general election.

He said, “Let me just say, the opposition is right in all that it’s doing. I agree wholeheartedly in coming together. The principles behind it, the objectives of it, are all correct. But you’re also playing somebody else’s game. This game is Tinubu’s game.

“Coalition now is playing the scripts of Tinubu. I believe in the coalition. Don’t get me wrong, but you don’t have to play the game the way he did.

“I have not left Labour Party. I am considering the coalition who have adopted ADC. Labour Party deserves better than being walked away from. Despite all the misgivings, we know the hands that are playing in each and every party. This is a party that scored, by our own count, over 10 million votes. This is a party that defeated APC and PDP together, irrespective of what the law courts said.”

Baba Ahmed also emphasised the need for genuine internal democracy within the coalition, adding that the quality of a coalition’s primary elections will be a litmus test for its credibility.

“The beginning of good governance is if you run good primaries.”