Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, who was Peter Obi’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election, has said the former Governor of Anambra State deserves to be the presidential candidate of the newly formed African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition — not a vice presidential candidate.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday night, July 3, Baba-Ahmed argued that Obi’s performance in the last election made him overqualified to be anyone’s deputy in 2027.

“The position of VP is very big. Anyway, I wanted to be, and I was rigged out. But I think Peter Obi should not be a VP, having gotten a disputed 10 million votes,” he said.

According to him, the coalition’s presidential ticket is effectively between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, and Obi. However, he insisted Obi should not settle for the number two slot.

Baba-Ahmed also rejected the notion that only a coalition of opposition politicians can defeat President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), citing the 2023 election as proof.

“It’s all about a narrative that was quickly sold to Nigeria — that to defeat Tinubu, it has to be a coalition. Coalition is good, but in 2023 we defeated APC, PDP. There was no coalition in the Labour Party,” he said.

He stressed that the real coalition Nigeria needs is not among politicians but at the ballot box.

“The real coalition we need is in the ballot box. The real coalition is of votes at the ballot box. You protect them all the way to declaration,” he said.