A political group, the Omoluabi Coalition, has accused former presidential aide, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, of operating as a partisan actor under the guise of a non-aligned political analyst, alleging that his recent interventions were aimed at weakening Nigeria’s opposition ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its Convener, Olumide Obayemi, the Coalition condemned Baba-Ahmed’s repeated public calls urging former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, insisting that the decision to seek elective office remains a personal and constitutional right.
The group argued that such decisions should be guided by political realities rather than what it described as the preferences of “self-appointed gatekeepers.”
The Coalition expressed concern that since Baba-Ahmed’s exit from the administration of President Bola Tinubu, he has refrained from offering what it termed any substantive critique of the government despite prevailing economic and social challenges.
According to the group, Baba-Ahmed has instead focused his commentary on opposition politics, particularly targeting the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a development it said raised questions about his political alignment.
“It is both ironic and revealing,” the statement said, “that a man who claims non-partisanship has found nothing fundamentally wrong with an administration that has wrecked livelihoods, but finds endless fault with an opposition seeking to rescue the country.”
The Coalition also criticised Baba-Ahmed’s comments on debates surrounding zoning, succession, and leadership aspirations, describing his approach as dismissive, particularly toward voices from the South-East.
It maintained that Nigerians from all regions, including supporters of Peter Obi, have the right to articulate political demands within democratic norms.
“No individual, certainly not Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has the moral or democratic authority to criminalise political demands simply because he disagrees with them,” the statement said.
“Supporters of Peter Obi are entitled to their views, just as supporters of Atiku Abubakar or any other aspirant are. Democracy does not require silence; it requires engagement.”
The group further accused Baba-Ahmed of deliberately fuelling divisions within opposition ranks in a manner it said could benefit the ruling party.
“We therefore challenge Hakeem Baba-Ahmed to come clean,” the statement added. “Is he an independent voice, or a fifth columnist working, wittingly or unwittingly, for the re-election of President Tinubu?”
The Coalition also pointed to what it described as hostile public interventions by members of Baba-Ahmed’s family toward Peter Obi, suggesting this has intensified suspicions of a coordinated effort to destabilise the opposition.
“Nigeria has endured enough,” the statement concluded. “Any so-called ‘corn’ analyst who spends this moment attacking the prospects of opposition success, rather than interrogating the failures of a collapsing administration, stands exposed as an agent of the status quo. Nigerians must see through this charade and reject it.”
