Former Labour Party vice presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has announced he is leaving the Labour Party and moving to the Peoples Redemption Party, citing internal disagreements and what he described as a departure from the party’s founding ideals.
Baba Ahmed made the announcement during an appearance on Politics Today on Tuesday, where he said the Labor Party is no longer what it used to be.
According to him, the party has changed significantly from the principles it once represented, and that shift contributed to his decision to leave.
“What the Labour Party stood for then is no longer what it is today,” he said.
He also suggested there had been internal developments within the party that made his continued stay difficult, referencing actions he believed were taken to frustrate him politically.
“There is more to it,” he said, while speaking about disagreements that informed his exit.
Baba Ahmed disclosed that his departure from the party would take effect at midnight and confirmed that he would be joining the PRP as his new political platform.
“I am leaving the Labour Party midnight and I am joining PRP. PRP is the new destination,” he said.
He also cited the party’s history as part of what attracted him to it, describing it as a movement with longstanding ideological roots.
The Peoples Redemption Party was founded in 1978 by Aminu Kano and is widely associated with socialist and progressive political ideals. It remains one of Nigeria’s oldest political movements.
The move marks a notable political shift for Baba Ahmed, who came into sharper national focus during the 2023 general election as Peter Obi’s running mate on the Labor Party ticket.
His announcement is likely to trigger conversations about the state of the Labor Party and what his defection could mean for opposition politics ahead of future political realignments.
While he did not provide extensive details on his plans within the PRP, his emphasis on the party’s history and ideology suggests he sees the move as more than a simple defection, but as a return to a political tradition he identifies with.
His exit also adds to broader discussions around internal tensions and evolving power dynamics within the Labour Party since the 2023 elections.
For now, Baba Ahmed has made his next political step clear, ending his chapter with Labour Party and opening a new one with PRP.
