Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has accused the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari of presiding over what he described as the most corrupt government in Nigeria’s history.
Baba-Ahmed made the claim while appearing on MIC On Podcast With Seun Okinbaloye, where he discussed President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
The Labour Party chieftain argued that the success of any economic programme ultimately depends on the level of accountability within government.
“Whatever policy, however beautiful it is you bring, that is laced with corruption, it will never work,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He then reflected on Buhari’s eight-year administration, attributing what he considered the former president’s poor performance to corruption.
“Why did Buhari fail so spectacularly? It’s because of corruption, I’m sorry. May his soul be rest in peace. All of us are on that journey, and we’ll go and account for what we did,” he said
Baba-Ahmed went further, describing the former administration in unusually strong terms.
“There has never been a corrupt government like Buhari’s government, and immoral government like Buhari’s government.”
He also connected his criticism of the Buhari administration to the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
According to Baba-Ahmed, Buhari had repeatedly assured Nigerians that the election would be free and fair. However, he alleged that the handling of election results failed to live up to that promise.
“After failing in all the indices that he said, he went to hunger. He promised that I have failed in ABC, but I promise you a free and fair, legit election. What did we see on that Wednesday before the Saturday’s election in 2023?” he asked.
The former vice-presidential candidate further alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s electronic results viewing platform was switched off during the election, resulting in officials recording results manually.
“Late Baba Buhari of blessed memory was promising the whole world this election would be credible. On Saturday, they switched off IREV, and they were writing the results by hand, and they violated the constitution,” he alleged.
Turning back to Tinubu’s economic agenda, Baba-Ahmed warned that the current administration could face similar difficulties if corruption was allowed to interfere with the implementation of its policies.
“So, to answer your question, whatever policies you bring, so long as there is corruption, you are wasting your time, and that is exactly what happened,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed was the running mate to Peter Obi on the Labour Party ticket during the 2023 presidential election. The pair finished third behind Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
