Chief Dan Ulasi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has alleged that former military president Ibrahim Babangida intervened to prevent former Vice President Alex Ekwueme from securing the PDP’s presidential ticket at the party’s first national convention.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, July 24, 2026, Ulasi claimed that former President Shehu Shagari had mobilised northern delegates to support Ekwueme at the convention in Jos. However, he alleged that Babangida persuaded northern political leaders to oppose Ekwueme’s candidacy, arguing that his emergence would invalidate the justification for the 1983 military coup that removed both Shagari and Ekwueme from office.
“At the first PDP convention that finally brought Olusegun Obasanjo as our candidate, Shehu Shagari had organised all the northern delegates to support Alex Ekwueme. Ibrahim Babangida had to intervene, saying that if Ekwueme became president, it would make nonsense of the coup they carried out,” Ulasi said.
Ulasi maintained that the alleged intervention influenced the outcome of the presidential primary, leading to Ekwueme’s defeat. His claims were made during the interview and have not been independently verified.
