With the presidential election barely less than 96 hours away, the vice-presidential candidate of Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, is confident of victory in Lagos State, the state with the highest number of registered voters.
With over seven million eligible voters, Lagos bests runner-up Kano State’s 5.9 million registered voters.
Giving his predictions of the outcome of the poll, Baba-Ahmed did not hesitate to downplay the influence of former Lagos governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu.
“By the grace of God, we have won Lagos, irrespective of Tinubu there. Are they going to come out and spread the people who are voting?” the entrepreneur asked during a live appearance on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict on Tuesday.
While admitting Kaduna is an “APC state”, he said it falls under “our category”, which according to him is a simple win. “Kaduna is category A in the whole of the North-West,” he added.
Asked about states he sees as an uphill battle, Baba-Ahmed said, “Yobe [and] Zamfara, of course. Those are two good friends.”
The former senator rejected the notion that winning the election is a long shot.
“It is logical. Many things that have never happened before in Nigeria are happening now with Labour Party. We’re the only three – party chairman, candidate, vice – born after independence.
“I’m losing modesty here. He’s a correct degree earner, which others cannot show you. I know Kwankwaso says he has a PhD; I don’t boast about a PhD or two master’s degrees.
“The 2023 elections, by the special grace of almighty Allah who gives power, is as good as won by Labour Party because of the mistakes others have made,” he said.
Datti Baba-Ahmed also disclosed that a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket will not work in Nigeria, given all the ethnoreligious complexities of Nigeria.
“What couldn’t happen in 2015 when the then candidate Buhari asked for any nomination whatsoever from Tinubu – because that configuration has passed. It can no longer work in Nigeria. [A] Muslim-Muslin ticket cannot work anymore.”
Arguing that “that configuration cannot work anymore”, the Labour Party candidate underscored the place of faith in Nigeria’s political structure, saying the country’s sociopolitical makeup is not a random occurrence.
“The creator of the heavens and earth does not make mistakes. This is the Federal Republic of Nigeria as duly filed at the United Nations and registered too,” he said.