Datti Baba-Ahmed has delivered a striking assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s political strength, saying only God can prevent him from winning the 2027 presidential election if he is determined to do so.
Baba-Ahmed, who served as the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate alongside Peter Obi in the 2023 election, made the remarks during a television interview while assessing the political landscape ahead of 2027.
Although he said he disagrees with some of Tinubu’s policies, Baba-Ahmed acknowledged the President’s ability to build a durable political network and forge alliances over many years.
“He Organised for 16 Years”
According to Baba-Ahmed, Tinubu’s current political influence is the result of a long-term strategy rather than a recent development.
He pointed to the roughly 16 years Tinubu spent building his political structure and highlighted his role in the alliance that helped bring former President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015.
Baba-Ahmed argued that Tinubu accomplished politically what many others had failed to achieve.
His assessment was not necessarily an endorsement of the President’s policies. Instead, he portrayed Tinubu as a politician who has demonstrated exceptional organisational discipline and a willingness to pursue unconventional strategies.
Baba-Ahmed’s Bold Prediction
The former Labour Party candidate went further when asked about Tinubu’s prospects in 2027.
His conclusion was blunt: if Tinubu decides that he will be returned to office, Baba-Ahmed believes only God can stop him.
He attributed this assessment to what he sees as the President’s enormous influence over Nigeria’s political system.
When asked whether his comments amounted to praise or criticism, Baba-Ahmed said they should be interpreted as an assessment of political reality.
“I only state the facts,” he said, adding that Nigeria’s political space currently belongs to Tinubu.
Why He Thinks the Opposition Is Struggling
Baba-Ahmed also offered a bleak assessment of the opposition’s ability to challenge the President.
He argued that Tinubu has been effective at preventing opposition parties from forming a sufficiently strong alliance against him.
He further alleged that the President exercises influence over leadership and candidate selection within opposition parties.
Those claims represent Baba-Ahmed’s political assessment and have not been established as independent facts.
He contrasted Tinubu’s organisational strength with that of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, now associated with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), suggesting that Atiku could encounter resistance from political figures around him when attempting similarly ambitious manoeuvres.
A Different Assessment of the 2027 Race
Baba-Ahmed’s latest comments are particularly notable because he was part of the Labour Party ticket that challenged Tinubu in 2023.
He has also recently argued that none of Tinubu’s current opponents has the capacity to move Nigeria forward, adding another layer to his assessment of the emerging 2027 contest.
The remarks come as Nigeria’s major political blocs position themselves for another presidential battle.
For the opposition, the challenge is not simply producing a candidate. It is building a political structure capable of competing with the machinery Tinubu has spent years developing.
And Baba-Ahmed’s warning is clear:
If the opposition cannot match that organisation, defeating Tinubu in 2027 could prove far more difficult than simply winning an argument at the ballot box.
