Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Chief Dan Ulasi has alleged that former military Head of State Ibrahim Babangida intervened during the party’s first presidential primary to prevent former Vice President Alex Ekwueme from emerging as its candidate, claiming Babangida believed an Ekwueme presidency would undermine the justification for the 1983 military coup.
Ulasi made the allegation during an interview on Arise Television, where he reflected on the events leading up to the PDP’s first presidential convention, which ultimately produced former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the party’s presidential candidate.
According to Ulasi, Ekwueme enjoyed significant support ahead of the convention, but the political dynamics shifted following Babangida’s intervention.
He claimed that former President Shehu Shagari had mobilized northern delegates in support of Ekwueme’s presidential ambition before Babangida entered the process.
Ulasi alleged that Babangida convened northern political leaders and argued that allowing Ekwueme to become president would cast doubt on the legitimacy of the military coup that removed both Ekwueme, then vice president, and Shagari from office.
“We went to the first PDP convention that finally brought Obasanjo as our candidate,” Ulasi said.
“Shagari had organized all the northern delegates and IBB came in to support. Ibrahim Babangida had to intervene and called all the northern leaders, saying that if Alex Ekwueme were allowed to be president, it would make a mockery of the coup they carried out that removed him and Shagari. That was why we lost the presidential primary.”
Ulasi said the outcome of the primary was a painful moment for Ekwueme’s supporters, many of whom were left devastated by the result.
He recalled that after the convention, supporters of the former vice president gathered at the Nicon Hilton Hotel, where many were in tears over the defeat.
According to Ulasi, Shehu Shagari later addressed those present, telling them he had done everything within his power to support Ekwueme’s bid.
Ulasi further claimed that Shagari acknowledged that the military continued to wield significant influence over Nigeria’s political process at the time, despite the country’s return to civilian rule.
He alleged that Shagari told the gathering the military was still effectively pulling the strings behind the scenes and shaping political outcomes across the country.
The claims by Ulasi are his account of events surrounding the PDP’s first presidential primary and have not been independently verified. Neither Ibrahim Babangida nor other individuals mentioned in the remarks were cited as responding to the allegations.
