The Presidency has accused the 2023 Labour Party (LP) vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, of being consumed by “obsession and bitterness” over the success of Vice President Kashim Shettima, warning that his repeated attacks were baseless, malicious, and laced with personal frustration.
Reacting to Datti’s latest appearance on Arise New Channel, where he questioned why President Bola Tinubu has not removed Vice President Shettima from office, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, issued a strongly worded statement on Friday, describing the remarks as “unprovoked, desperate, and steeped in envy.”
According to Nkwocha, Shettima remains a loyal and dependable deputy to President Tinubu and has continued to discharge his responsibilities with “integrity, patriotism, and devotion to the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
“Unlike the picture of a desperado that Datti attempted to paint of VP Shettima, this Vice President is a perfect story of democratic credentials—untainted and never involved in election rigging. In fact, he has never lost an election,” the statement read.
He added that Vice President Shettima has continued to serve as a trusted partner in governance, and his loyalty to President Tinubu is “unwavering and total,” a trait that the President deeply values.
Nkwocha questioned the credibility of Datti’s criticisms, citing his removal from the Senate by the courts in 2011 for alleged election rigging in favour of the now-defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
He recalled how the tribunal had nullified Datti’s victory and awarded the seat to former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Makarfi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after a recount exposed irregularities.
“Talk is cheap,” the statement continued. “Those who rigged elections and were sent packing by the courts should not attempt to moralise. Datti’s bitterness stems from personal political failure.
While Shettima delivered Borno for his party, Datti couldn’t even secure a second-place finish for the Labour Party in Kaduna.”
The Presidency also rebuked Datti for what it described as “a history of desperate rhetoric,” including his controversial remarks after the 2023 elections that were widely viewed as undermining democratic processes.
Nkwocha further listed Vice President Shettima’s long and diverse public service record—from university lecturer to banker, state commissioner, two-term governor, senator, and now Vice President—stating that his rise to the nation’s second-highest office is the result of hard work and divine providence.
“God, in His infinite mercy, elevated Senator Shettima to where he is today. That elevation is not unmeritorious. The obsession of Datti Baba-Ahmed with another man’s destiny is baffling,” he said.
The statement also dismissed Datti’s suggestion that the President should remove Shettima, saying such a demand lacked any constitutional basis and exposed the former senator’s lack of depth in democratic norms.
“This President has no time for beer parlour gossip or petty distractions. He sees in Shettima a loyal, competent, and cerebral partner. No amount of envy or hate speech from the likes of Datti can change that.”
Concluding the statement, Nkwocha warned that further “unprovoked attacks” against the Vice President would no longer go unanswered.
“For too long, we have allowed Datti’s vituperations to go unchecked. That time is over. We will match every lie with the truth. If he seeks Shettima’s fall, he must first reckon with the will of Almighty Allah who alone gives power,” Nkwocha said.
He reaffirmed that the Vice President’s media team would remain focused on amplifying the successes of the Tinubu administration but would no longer tolerate what he described as “cheap shots from politically wounded characters.”
