Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Chief Dan Ulasi has alleged that former military president Ibrahim Babangida intervened to prevent the late former Vice President Alex Ekwueme from securing the PDP’s presidential ticket during the party’s first presidential primary.
Speaking on Arise Television on Friday, July 24, 2026, Ulasi claimed that former President Shehu Shagari had mobilised northern delegates to support Ekwueme at the PDP convention in Jos, where former President Olusegun Obasanjo eventually emerged as the party’s candidate.
According to Ulasi, Babangida later contacted influential northern political leaders and argued that Ekwueme’s emergence as president would undermine 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, resulting in Ekwueme’s defeat and Obasanjo’s emergence as the PDP’s flag bearer. His account reflects allegations made during the interview and has not been independently verified.
