The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has revealed that talks between the party and former presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, collapsed over disagreements surrounding the 2027 presidential ticket.
Speaking during a Hausa political programme on DITV Kaduna, Baba-Ahmed alleged that both politicians approached the PRP for possible collaboration ahead of the 2027 general elections but sought assurances that the party’s presidential ticket would be handed to them without contest.
According to him, the PRP leadership rejected the request, insisting that the party would not compromise its internal democratic process.
“They came and said they wanted to join the PRP, but when we sat down and discussed with them, there were certain demands they made,” Baba-Ahmed stated.
He explained that Obi and Kwankwaso were informed that they must first become formal members of the party before seeking any elective office through established procedures.
“Before they joined, they told us that they were presidential candidates, meaning they should be given the ticket. We told them no, this is PRP; we do not practice that kind of politics,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed further disclosed that the camps of both politicians requested key party positions for their loyalists due to the large number of supporters they intended to bring into the party.
“We believed that if anyone entered a room and saw Obi and Kwankwaso, they would think strong contenders had arrived. But we cannot break our party’s rules,” he added.
The PRP chairman maintained that while the party acknowledged the political influence of both men, it could not abandon its constitution to accommodate personal ambitions.
Reacting to the claims, spokesperson of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habeeb Saleh Mohammed, dismissed Baba-Ahmed’s remarks as attention-seeking and denied knowledge of any formal agreement between the PRP and the two politicians.
According to Mohammed, the PRP had publicly appealed to Obi, Kwankwaso and members of the opposition coalition to join the party, but no meeting was held where presidential tickets were demanded.
“I’m not actually aware of any official sitting among my principal, Peter Obi and the PRP as a party where my principal or Peter Obi directly requested a ticket,” he said.
He also questioned the motive behind the allegations, insisting that the growing political relevance of Obi and Kwankwaso had made them targets of political commentary.
“I believe everybody wants to attract some sort of attention to himself by saying these things,” Mohammed added.
The Kwankwasiyya spokesperson described the allegations as “baseless and unsubstantiated,” stressing that, to his knowledge, neither Obi nor Kwankwaso approached the PRP demanding automatic nomination.
Meanwhile, both Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso are now reportedly aligned with the Nigeria Democratic Congress as political realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election continue to gather momentum.
Comments