LAGOS, Nigeria — The spokesperson for the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Kenneth Okonkwo, has asserted that Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed may be suffering from a post-political identity crisis following his role in the 2023 presidential election.
Okay News reports that Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, made the remarks during an interview on Arise TV’s Daybreak on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
The reaction followed recent statements by Baba-Ahmed, the 2023 vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, who claimed that none of the leading candidates for the 2027 presidential election possess the capacity to improve Nigeria.
“I understand why he made his comment about Peter Obi, because we were in the same trenches together, and I can tell you that he may be suffering from what I call post-political identity crisis,” Okonkwo said.
He stated that participants in the 2023 campaign had high expectations for a new political direction, adding that supporters joined the movement primarily to contribute rather than gain. Okonkwo attributed the eventual disillusionment to what he termed the inability of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi to manage the affairs of the Labour Party.
“After working with Peter Obi, you run the risk of suffering that, because we all came in in 2023 with high hopes, and we thought that a new Nigeria is birthed,” Okonkwo said.
“For the first time in my life, I saw people coming into an association for what they can give, and nobody was talking about what he can take, what he can receive,” he said.
“So, if such an association ends the way the Labour Party ended, you will see everybody coming out with political trauma, because that spoke of incompetence and incapacity of the political leader then called Peter Obi to manage the affairs,” Okonkwo said.
“When everything is provided for you, the people are willing to do something for you. They were willing to provide resources. They were only asking for one thing, and that’s leadership. And you could not provide it,” he said.
“That was why in his (Baba-Ahmed) own words, he said after Labour Party, he couldn’t do anything again for Peter Obi. In other words, after what happened in Labour Party, I lost confidence in him. I was there with him,” he added.
Baba-Ahmed had previously stated that none of the top contenders for the 2027 presidency could move the country forward, noting that several had been part of the political establishment responsible for Nigeria’s current state.
