The Obi-Datti media office, in a statement released on Saturday, says Datti Baba-Ahmed, the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), will not engage in a debate with Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, as Soyinka's offer has been rejected by Baba-Ahmed due to "cultural and political reasons," and not cowardice.

Baba-Ahmed's recent comments on the presidential election results, which generated criticism and a fine for Channels TV, led to Soyinka challenging him to a debate.

In response, Baba-Ahmed asked Soyinka to present his preferred presidential candidate for a one-on-one debate with him, as he is not interested in debating someone who is not on the ballot opposite him.

Baba-Ahmed believes it is not culturally appropriate for him to debate someone with such a significant age and accomplishment gap, and politically, there is no basis for the challenge as Soyinka's preferred candidate, Bola Tinubu, did not participate in debates during the campaign.