Meet Peter Obi’s running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Friday, announced Datti Baba-Ahmed, as his running mate for the 2023 general election.

Obi announced Baba-Ahmed as the LP vice-presidential candidate in Abuja.

Below are a few things to know about Peter Obi’s running mate for the 2023 presidential election:

Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was born to the Baba-Ahmed family in Zaria, Kaduna State, in 1976.

He is among the thirty-three children of his father, Baba Ahmed, who was an Arab cattle-trader from modern-day Mauritania and later became a notable professor and expert on Islamic jurisprudence.

Baba-Ahmed has a BSc and MSc in Economics from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.

He worked in the security Printing and Minting, Lagos before entering into politics.

In 2006, while a Federal representative, he bagged a Doctor of Philosophy when he completed his PhD studies at the University of Westminster.

2023: Obi announces Datti Baba-Ahmed as running mate

Baba-Ahmed was elected as a House of Representatives member for Zaria Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2003.

As a federal lawmaker, he became known for speaking against corruption and the Third Term Agenda of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

After leaving office in 2007, Baba-Ahmed continued advocating for good governance while returning to his Baze business grouping and founding Baze University.

Baba-Ahmed was the founder and Pro-Chancellor of Baze University, Abuja. The university was opened in April 2011.

In 2011, he moved back to politics and vied for the Kaduna North senatorial seat.

In the April 2011 elections, Baba-Ahmed polled 366,398 votes in the contest for Senator and won the Kaduna North senatorial seat.

His victory was however overturned by electoral tribunal and he left office in 2012.

After an unsuccessful presidential campaign in the 2019 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries, Baba-Ahmed joined Labour Party in 2022.

He was officially unveiled as the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the 2023 general election on Friday, July 8, 2022.

The Star