Publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has taken a swipe at Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, describing him as “aggrieved” and likening his recent conduct to that of “a jilted lover” amid rising tensions within Nigeria’s opposition space.
Momodu made the remarks on Thursday while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, reacting to comments Baba-Ahmed made a day earlier during his declaration to contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party.
During his declaration, Baba-Ahmed had criticised members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)-led coalition, referring to some as “disgruntled politicians” and dismissing former Labour Party members who defected to the ADC as “political travellers.”
Responding, Momodu said he was surprised by the tone of Baba-Ahmed’s remarks, warning that political engagement should not be driven by anger or personal frustration.
“He has a right to say anything. I am very, very surprised about how he talks down on other politicians,” Momodu said.
While acknowledging Baba-Ahmed’s right to aspire to the presidency, Momodu stressed that the political terrain had changed significantly since the 2023 general election.
“He is free to contest, but he knows that today the Labour Party is not what it was in the last election,” he noted.
The media entrepreneur argued that Baba-Ahmed’s hostility toward the ADC coalition stemmed from unfulfilled ambitions within the emerging political alignment.
“And the reason he is aggrieved is that he goes and pursues his own dreams and knows that, in that coalition, it is not likely,” Momodu said.
He further dismissed Baba-Ahmed’s remarks as emotional rather than strategic, suggesting that personal expectations were influencing his public statements.
“I’m not bothered at all. He is an aggrieved person; he’s like a jilted lover. He ran with Peter Obi the last time; he would expect to run again, but they should not turn themselves into serial contestants,” he added.
Momodu cautioned against what he described as narrow political thinking, insisting that personal ambition must give way to broader national interest, especially in coalition politics.
“Only serial contestants would not think about the larger picture,” he said, emphasizing that successful alliances require compromise and strategic calculation.
He cited former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s decision to pick Peter Obi as his running mate in the 2019 election as an example of political foresight.
“Ever before, there was Datti, and there was Atiku Abubakar, a visionary man, who saw Peter Obi as a star of Nigerian politics and picked him in 2019 against the wishes of some governors,” Momodu said.
Concluding, Momodu stressed that electoral victory ultimately depends on structure, reach, and numbers, describing elections as “a game of mathematics” and urging politicians to align with platforms capable of winning power.
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