The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has urged Nigerians to completely abandon the habit of picking leaders based on where they come from, appealing instead for a focus on competence, integrity, and real vision.
Baba-Ahmed made this passionate call in Abuja during a News Agency of Nigeria, NAN interview, speaking right after the party officially cleared former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, as its presidential flagbearer for the 2027 general elections.
He explained that the PRP deliberately threw out the usual political playbook of zoning and regional entitlement, insisting that Nigeria’s massive challenges require highly capable problem-solvers rather than leaders chosen simply by geographic turn-by-turn.
“As a northerner, I am completely comfortable supporting Donald Duke because he is the best candidate available to us, not because he comes from the South,” he said.
The party chairman pointed out that citizens must learn from the harsh lessons of the past and stop letting ethnic, religious, or regional sentiments blind them when making critical leadership choices at the polls.
“We have reached a point where the country should ask who can solve our problems, not where the person comes from. The problems confronting Nigerians today are not northern or southern issues. Poverty, insecurity and unemployment affect every part of the country,” he said.
Rounding off, the prominent northern politician revealed a surprising twist from their internal race, disclosing that all three aspirants who competed for the PRP presidential ticket actually hailed from the South, with not a single northern politician stepping into the ring.
