Friday, January 9, 2026 - Publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has taken a swipe at Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, over his recent verbal attacks on members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Momodu described Baba-Ahmed as “an aggrieved person” and
even compared his conduct to that of “a jilted lover.”
Momodu made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance on
Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he responded to Baba-Ahmed’s
comments from the previous day while formally announcing his intention to vie
for the 2027 presidency under the Labour Party.
During that declaration, Baba-Ahmed had labelled some
members of the ADC coalition as “disgruntled politicians” and dismissed former
Labour Party members who moved to the ADC as “political travellers.”
Reacting to those statements, Momodu said he found
Baba-Ahmed’s tone surprising and cautioned that political discourse must not be
driven by irritation or personal emotions.
“He has a right to say anything. I am very, very surprised
about how he talks down on other politicians,” Momodu said.
Momodu acknowledged that Baba-Ahmed could seek the
presidency just like any other aspirant but stressed that the political
landscape had shifted significantly since the 2023 polls.
“He is free to contest, but he knows that today the Labour
Party is not what it was in the last election,” he said.
The media entrepreneur argued that Baba-Ahmed’s displeasure
toward the ADC was rooted in unmet political ambitions within the new coalition
arrangement.
“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,” he added.
Momodu further interpreted Baba-Ahmed’s remarks as emotional
outbursts rather than strategic political reasoning.
“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 criticised narrow political thinking and insisted that
national interest should outweigh personal ambition.
“Only serial contestants would not think about the larger
picture,” Momodu said, noting that coalition-building requires compromise and
tactical planning.
He referenced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s
decision to choose Peter Obi as his running mate in 2019 as an example of
forward-looking political judgement.
“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.
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