Former vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has sparked fresh controversy following remarks made during a Channels Television interview on June 7, 2026, where he discussed sensitive political tensions linked to his 2023 campaign experience with Peter Obi.
During the interview on Inside Sources, Baba-Ahmed said he played a quiet but active role in managing politically sensitive controversies while campaigning in northern Nigeria.
He stated:
“The northerners were made to [get ID cards]… for which Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso traveled to Anambra to challenge Peter Obi on. I got that matter effectively under control. When he was governor, there was mosque demolition. It was tough, but I silenced that matter too.”
He also referenced efforts to promote Obi’s candidacy in the North, adding that he worked to ease tensions around issues that could have damaged the campaign’s reception in the region.
Baba-Ahmed framed his intervention as part of broader behind the scenes mediation efforts, saying he remained committed to the joint ticket despite ideological and religious differences.
He further remarked: “Nobody will cause a problem between me and my boss Peter Obi,” while stressing mutual respect between both men even after the 2023 elections.
The comments were made in the context of wider political realignments and his growing public visibility ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.
The remarks have since circulated widely, with short clips focusing on the mosque demolition reference spreading across social media platforms, triggering renewed debate. Critics of Obi’s record have used the statement to revive past allegations linked to the 2012 Onitsha central mosque demolition during his tenure as Anambra State governor.
That 2012 incident, associated with urban renewal and road expansion around the Bridgehead and Upper Iweka axis, has long remained politically sensitive and is often referenced in partisan debates.
Supporters of Obi, including spokespersons within the Obidient movement, have rejected the renewed framing of the issue, insisting that no policy of religiously targeted demolition existed and that the episode has been repeatedly misrepresented in political discourse.
The interview has added new tension to ongoing conversations about internal Labour Party dynamics, post 2023 political accountability, and emerging alignments ahead of the next election cycle.
