Dati Baba-Ahmed says he agreed to be Peter Obi's running mate because he believes change is imminent

LABOUR Party vice presidential candidate Dr Dati Baba-Ahmed has revealed that he only accepted to be Peter Obi's running mate in the forthcoming 2023 elections because he believes his principal has the capacity to make Nigeria live up to its billing.

Yesterday, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi picked Dr Baba-Ahmed as his running mate and the two of them will now stand as a team in February's presidential elections. Accepting the nomination, Dr Baba-Ahmed said he trusts that Governor Obi would not mismanage the nation’s wealth.

An economist, Dr Baba-Ahmed, 46, was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, one of 32 children his father, who was an Arab cattle-trader from modern-day Mauritania gave birth to. His father later became a notable professor and expert on Islamic jurisprudence.

Dr Baba-Ahmed has a BSc and MSc in Economics from the University of Maiduguri in Borno State and was once an employee of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company in Lagos before venturing into politics. He was elected as the member representing Zaria Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in 2003.

In 2006, while in the National Assembly, Dr Baba-Ahmed  earned the title of Doctor of Philosophy when he completed his PhD studies at the University of Westminster. He is the founder and pro-chancellor of Baze University in Abuja.

Back in April 2011, Dr Baba-Ahmed won the Kaduna North Senatorial seat in and occupied represented the constituency on the from 2011 to 2012. However, his election was later overturned by the courts.