Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, born 7 July 1969, is a Nigerian economist and politician who is the Labour Party’s Vice Presidential Candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Daily News24 provides a biography of the politician.
Early Childhood and Education
Mr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was born in Zaria in 1969 to the Baba-Ahmed family. He is one of thirty-three children born to his father, Baba Ahmed, an Arab cattle trader from modern-day Mauritania who became a notable scholar and expert on Islamic jurisprudence.
Baba-Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Maiduguri in Borno State. Before entering politics, he worked in security printing and minting in Lagos. He worked in business and banking for several years after finishing school before entering politics.
Baba-Ahmed was elected as a member of the House of Representatives for Zaria in 2003. During his tenure, he became known for speaking out against corruption and the Third Term Agenda.
While serving as a Federal Representative, he earned the title of Doctor of Philosophy after completing his PhD studies at the University of Westminster in 2006. Baba-Ahmed continued to advocate for good governance after leaving office in 2007, returning to his Baze business group and founding Baze University.
Political Career
Baba-Ahmed was elected to the Federal House of Representatives in April 2003 for the Zaria Federal Constituency in Kaduna State. He ran on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Baba-Ahmed became well-known for his principled activism.
During President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, he was among lawmakers who opposed allowing Obasanjo to run for a third term. In May 2006, he stated that he would not run for reelection unless action was taken to investigate allegations that members were bribed to support the constitutional changes required for a third term as president.
He took the Independent National Electoral Commission to court in 2007 over the conduct of previous elections. Baba-Ahmed ran and won the Kaduna North Senatorial elections in 2011 under President Muhammadu Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC); the election was challenged in court by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which resulted in Ahmed’s controversial victory being overturned.
In 2018, he ran unsuccessfully for the Peoples Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination (PDP). He dropped out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries for the 2023 governorship elections in Kaduna State in 2022, citing his refusal to buy delegate votes as the reason. On July 8, 2022, he was nominated as the Labour Party’s Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 Nigeria General Election.
Networth and Private life
Nigerian politician, scholar, and businessman Yusuf Baba Ahmed has amassed a net worth of $83.2 million due to his various business endeavours. It is reported that he is married to Aisha Baba-Ahmed further information about his marriage, and children are limited.
