Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Political Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, on Monday identified three Nigerians who should not contest the 2027 presidential election.
Baba-Ahmed said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State should not aspire to be Nigeria’s President.
Featuring on AIT’s Focus Nigeria, the former presidential aide said Atiku should step back and sponsor a younger candidate.
He said the former Vice President should be a father figure to aspiring candidates.
He said: “If you have a very prominent member of PDP as Vice President for eight years, he competed three times – Atiku, a highly respected person – with due respect, I think he should be a hero of democracy.
“I don’t think he should aspire to lead this country, I think he should be a father figure.
“He should be involved in the building of an alternative to APC but he should bring in new blood, perspective, and people and say the figure belongs to you, we will stand behind you.
“Amaechi should do the same thing, El-Rufai should do the same if he thinks he can handle his own ego.
“Those faces should not be the ones telling Nigerians give us power.
“If you have contested for the presidency three times, you didn’t get it and you are approaching 80, for goodness sake, something should tell you that it’s time to be a father figure.
“My gut feeling is that Atiku will say I will call it quit as far as aspiring to be president is concern but I have a condition, we want younger people, more energetic people not people who have been so exposed to power that can’t leave outside power.
“If you give those people power, they are just going to be like Tinubu’s government.”
