Former spokesperson of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, to drop their ambitions.
Mr Baba-Ahmed, who recently gave similar advice to President Bola Tinubu, urged the duo to support the younger generation instead of going to the polls.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that Mr Abubakar has taken shots at the presidential seats six times without success.
Mr Obi, on the other hand, served as a running mate to Mr Abubakar in the 2019 elections under the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and also flew the flag of the Labour Party in the 2023 election.
But speaking during an interview with Channels TV on Thursday, Mr Baba-Ahmed, who recently resigned as presidential adviser, said: “If I had the chance, I’d tell Atiku the same thing. He’s done his bit. He’s been persistent. But now, he should play a fatherly role —help identify and support younger leaders.”
Mr Baba-Ahmed said he believes the opposition PDP could be competitive in the 2027 presidential election if it fields a younger, visionary candidate.
“If they present someone younger, with fewer skeletons, better health and fresh ideas, they could wipe the floor with the APC. This country is hungry for leadership with vision and empathy,” he said.
He stressed that regional origins should no longer dominate political considerations.
“It doesn’t matter where the person comes from. At this point, anyone still talking about North or South is missing the point. We need competence and vision.”
He also expressed doubts about the capacity of Messrs Abubakar and Obi , would have done better than the current Tinubu administration.
Mr Obi, he said: “I know him personally. I think he has good ideas about a lot of things.”
As for Atiku, he said while the former vice president has extensive experience, he is not convinced he would have offered better governance.
“All these people—the best service they can render to this country is to retire themselves,” he said.
“If they don’t, then Nigerians should retire them.”
