THE 2023 Labour Party vice presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has clarified that Peter Obi was aware of his participation in the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting led by Julius Abure.
He described his presence at the meeting as part of a peace initiative aimed at reconciling aggrieved factions within the party.
Speaking in an interview today, Baba-Ahmed positioned himself as a unifying figure in the face of the party’s internal leadership crisis.
“Every action I take is with the knowledge of key stakeholders. I speak directly with Peter Obi, and he was fully aware of my attendance,” he stated.
Responding to comments by Obidient Movement Coordinator Yunusa Tanko — who claimed Obi’s supporters were unaware of the meeting — Baba-Ahmed said, “I don’t report to Tanko. I engage directly with His Excellency Peter Obi. Perhaps Tanko was simply not updated.”
He emphasized the need for unity, calling on all party members to come together and engage in dialogue for the greater good. “Labour Party is not a party to walk away from. I’m playing the role of a catalyst for positive change,” he said.
The Labour Party has recently been mired in a leadership tussle, with factions aligning with either Julius Abure or the newly formed interim committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman. Usman was elected interim National Chairman alongside Senator Darlington Nwokocha as interim Secretary.
However, the party’s Youth Leader, Kennedy Ahanotu, has dismissed the appointments as unconstitutional, insisting that Abure remains the party’s rightful chairman.
Though the Supreme Court, in April, ruled that the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to affirm Abure’s leadership, it also reaffirmed that party leadership issues are internal matters outside the court’s jurisdiction. This has further complicated the power struggle within the party.
Despite these divisions, Baba-Ahmed reiterated his commitment to party unity, stressing that resolving internal disputes is vital to Labour Party’s mission to “rescue Nigeria.”