The Nigerian presidency has fired back at Datti Baba-Ahmed, running mate to Labour Party’s Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election, over his recent call for Vice President Kashim Shettima’s removal from office.
In a sharply worded statement released on Friday, Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice-President), condemned Baba-Ahmed’s remarks as “obsessive vituperation” and dismissed them as “beer parlour gossip.”
Baba-Ahmed had appeared on Arise Television, where he questioned the continued stay of Shettima in office and pushed for a strong political coalition to challenge the current administration.
However, Nkwocha claimed the interview was nothing more than “a public display of frustration” from a man still smarting from electoral defeat.
“In the said interview, Baba-Ahmed expressed his frustrations on why the president had yet to remove the vice-president from office, not for any proven wrongdoing, but just to satisfy his personal ego,” Nkwocha stated. “Well, the bad news for him is that his frustration is just beginning.”
While acknowledging that the Vice President’s office usually refrains from responding to such remarks, Nkwocha said Baba-Ahmed’s rhetoric had crossed the line and warranted a rebuttal.
He further questioned Baba-Ahmed’s credibility by pointing to what he called “a less-than-distinguished” academic and political track record.
