Uncertainty over planned defection of Bala Mohammed

Gov Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.

By Soni Daniel, Editor, Northern Region

The planned defection of Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the African Democratic Party, ADC, or the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, did not take place after all.

Although the governor will be ending his two terms next year, he has nonetheless been seriously courted by both the ruling APC and the ADC, which is facing existential battle from many fronts.

Only on Wednesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced the withdrawal of its recognition of the party’s sxco led by former Senate President, Senator David Mark, claiming that it was complying with an Appeal Court ruling.

It was not, however, clear whether Bala Mohammed’s decision to call off his planned defection to the ADC had anything to do with the INEC decision or whether he had accepted the overtures of the APC to come over to the ruling party.

There were speculations last night that Mohammed might be seriously weighing options available to him given the offers made to him by both the APC Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda and a chieftain of the ADC, Babachir Lawal, who had met with the governor separately on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Against the expectation of the public that the governor would make an open declaration on his next party, yesterday, it was gathered that he was not planning any event in Bauchi on Thursday.

“The governor is not even in Bauchi, as we speak,” a competent source in Bauchi told Vanguard on phone.
“His Excellency appears to have travelled out of the state to hold further consultations with his political family and stakeholders outside Bauchi,” the source told Vanguard, but did not state where exactly the governor was.