The Presidency has dismissed the claims by the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the

2023 election, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not seek re-election in 2027 “if he is a smart politician.”

Datti Baba-Ahmed had called on President Tinubu to give up contesting in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Nigerians would demand true democracy in 2027.

He stated this on ‘Prime Time’, a political programme on ARISE NEWS Channel.

The LP chieftain stressed that if Tinubu is truly a smart politician, he will know that his time is up.

Baba-Ahmed further stated that everything happening in Nigeria indicates that the president and his party, the All Progressives Party (APC), will lose in 2027.

He claimed that Tinubu started presenting presidential candidates in 2007, “culminating in his electoral heist in 2023.”

“If he is that smart, everything is there to show that he is going to lose in 2027. There are two possible candidates that I cannot mention, and they are the nemesis of Tinubu. It is proven that APC is a lying party, because Buhari did not fight corruption or provide security, nor will Tinubu do this.

“So, going forward, I see APC losing this election and I see Nigerians somehow uniting and seeing someone like me saying look, if you cannot practice this democracy, then Nigeria is not for you and they will decide for the first time to practice giving no room for bad leadership in Nigeria and gradually, we will begin to heal our land. We will begin to recover, unite, and take each other as brothers and sisters. Their time is up,” he added.

But in a strongly worded reaction on his verified X handle, @SundayDareSD, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, dismissed Baba-Ahmed’s comments as “illogical logic.”

Dare insisted that President Tinubu would not only seek re-election but would win comfortably based on his performance.

“Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s ‘illogical logic’ was all over the place in his recent interview with a television channel. He peddled arguments that were flawed, devoid of reason and empty. He must have as well dropped from space, going by what he spewed out during the interview,” Dare wrote.

The media aide likened listening to Baba-Ahmed’s commentary to enduring false predictions from “charlatan prophets,” adding that both Baba-Ahmed and his former running mate, Peter Obi, represent a “double whammy” in Nigerian politics.

“If listening to a Peter Obi interview was a punishment, listening to Baba-Ahmed, his defunct running mate, is a torment. His political logic is not fit for even a first-year political science class, and even then, they will query his postulations”, Dare said.

Dare criticised Baba-Ahmed for failing to acknowledge President Tinubu’s track record and ongoing reforms, choosing instead to focus on “antecedents” and electoral hypotheticals.

“He conveniently avoided the substance of performance and capacity. Unfortunately, he chose to walk into a lane he was unfamiliar with and chose to confront a politician he is no match for”, Dare stated.

According to Dare, politics is not for “theorists or the faint-hearted,” insisting that Baba-Ahmed, whom he accused of lacking courage and political insight, does not meet the standard.

“Politics is for those with a solid track record of performance, the courageous, far-sighted and gifted – qualities he clearly lacks,” Dare declared.

Dare cited recent endorsements of the President’s economic reforms by international institutions as proof of progress.“The positive impacts of the tough choices President Tinubu has made in the interest of the country are already being felt. Even the IMF recently acknowledged – ‘Tinubu’s reforms have put the economy in a better position to navigate this external environment,” he said.

Dare expressed the confidence that President Tinubu would win a second term with ease, regardless of opposition rhetoric or political strategy.

He urged Baba-Ahmed to “seriously consider how to rehabilitate his failed political career” rather than making television appearances that serve little purpose.

“If Datti Baba-Ahmed is smart, he will simply keep quiet and leave politics for those equipped for that complicated art,” Dare said.