Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 Nigerian general elections, has called for the immediate resignation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima. He asserts that their inauguration was unconstitutional and that their administration lacks legitimacy.

In a recent interview on Arise Television, Baba-Ahmed stated that the Labour Party would not engage with what he described as an “illegitimate government.” He emphasized that the swearing-in of Tinubu and Shettima was fraudulent and urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio to oversee a new presidential election following their resignation.

“Can Tinubu and Shettima just resign and let the Senate President conduct another election? They were fraudulently sworn in, and we will not work with an illegitimate government. If it is not constitutional, we are not touching it,” Baba-Ahmed declared.

He further criticized the judicial system, stating that the petition court and the Supreme Court did not affirm the success of Tinubu’s presidency but upheld the unconstitutionality of the election. “They are happy for it to remain so. And they have the power; nobody can do anything about it,” he added.

Baba-Ahmed expressed his discontent with the administration’s performance, claiming that President Tinubu has delivered “nothing but disaster” in his first six months in office. He accused the government of failing to transition Nigeria from consumption to production and of not addressing issues such as killings, theft, and the nation’s decline.

“This man has delivered nothing, and he is poised to deliver nothing. They have not moved an inch Nigeria from consumption and waste to production, and they will not do it. They will not stop the killings and start the healing. They will not stop the stealing and start the keeping, and they will not stop the slide of Nigeria, and they cannot start the climb,” he asserted.

Baba-Ahmed also criticized Tinubu’s long-standing influence in Nigerian politics, suggesting that it is time for new leadership. “For someone that has been playing ‘God’ for such a long time like Alhaji Tinubu, and it is time for a mortal like maybe Obi or someone else to put him in his right place,” he said.

He accused the administration of being self-serving, stating, “They are in power for themselves. For their ego, for their wealth, for their comfort, for their own considerations, not for Nigeria.”

These remarks come amid ongoing debates about the legitimacy of the 2023 presidential election and the performance of the current administration. Baba-Ahmed’s statements reflect the Labour Party’s stance on not recognizing the Tinubu-Shettima government as legitimate and their call for a new electoral process to ensure constitutional governance.

The political landscape in Nigeria remains tense as opposition parties continue to challenge the current administration’s legitimacy and effectiveness. The call for resignation by a prominent opposition figure like Baba-Ahmed underscores the deep divisions and ongoing disputes following the 2023 elections.