Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, says anyone determined to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 must show “red eye.”
Baba-Ahmed spoke during an interview with Nigeria Right Now, which was uploaded on YouTube on Thursday.
The former senator said he had cautioned Peter Obi, former presidential candidate, against placing faith in the judiciary to resolve what he described as “grave constitutional violations.”
“I told Peter Obi, Supreme Court cannot give you governor and give you presidency. For God’s sake, stand up and do something. The Nigerian Constitution was clearly breached,” he said.
Drawing a parallel with Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggle, Baba-Ahmed said vested interests react aggressively whenever their position is threatened.
“Now if it was June 12 people that you breach not just the constitution, breach just one small punctuation in their interest, I swear to God nobody will sleep, they must take it,” he said.
He argued that those he accused of undermining the constitution were nonetheless relentless in defending their own interests.
“So, as much as I dislike the fact that they are abusing the Nigerian Constitution, you must give to them,” Baba-Ahmed said.
“They fight for their interest and they can organise June 12 rallies and they can keep it up for three decades, and if you say no let’s go to court. Let’s go to court…”
Baba-Ahmed insisted that defeating Tinubu would require visible resistance.
“Whoever is going to defeat Tinubu must be ready, I’ll use the word red eye,” he said.
He maintained that electoral outcomes are usually determined at the point of result declaration rather than through post-election litigation.
“You must show your red eyes if you’re going to defeat because on that day, as they are declaring the result, the people declaring fake results are criminals,” Baba-Ahmed said.
“And those who are stopping the declaration of fake results are good citizens. So, what they normally do is tell law enforcement, look, these are the people who stop me from declaring the wrong results.
“They’re criminals, they’re breaking your law and they are stopping me from committing a crime. Catch them because they are stopping me from rigging this election.”
The Labour Party chieftain further dismissed the idea that court processes alone could dismantle entrenched political power.
“Whoever wants to defeat Tinubu must do red eye, show red eye, there is no going to court,” he said.
In the 2003 Anambra governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Chris Ngige winner before Obi successfully reclaimed the mandate at the court of appeal in March 2006.
Similarly, Obi challenged Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, but the appeal was dismissed by the courts up to the supreme court.