The Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been seeking Nigeria’s presidency since his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) days.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, Baba-Ahmed recalled that Atiku was already a presidential aspirant during his NYSC period.

He argued that Nigeria requires a new generation of leaders, saying many capable citizens are ready to address the nation’s challenges but are discouraged by a political system he described as expensive, difficult and dominated by godfathers and broken promises.

He said, “When I was doing my NYSC, Baba Atiku was an aspirant, and in 2018, we contested the primaries together. In 2023, we contested again, with me as a vice-presidential candidate elsewhere, when his vice president had left him. And, for God’s sake, in 2027 again.

“There is a need for a new generation of Nigerian leaders, and they do exist. Like I said, a whole new generation is waiting for a new leader to lead them to a new party.

“There are good Nigerians, there are people capable of solving Nigeria’s problems, but they are discouraged by an expensive, difficult and treacherous system full of godfathers and bad promises to make. But there are good Nigerians who are looking for that leader to lead them to fix Nigeria’s problems.”

The Labour Party chieftain also dismissed claims that he had declared interest in contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Baba-Ahmed clarified that he merely reaffirmed his membership of the Labour Party and did not announce a presidential bid.

He added that any decision on future elections would depend on the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the position of the party, urging the public to disregard what he described as sensational narratives circulating on social media. (TRIBUNE)