Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has blamed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) defeat in the 2023 presidential election on its refusal to zone the ticket to southern Nigeria.
Speaking on Thursday as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the governor, who also chairs the PDP Governors’ Forum, said the party has learnt from its mistakes. His remarks came just days after the PDP zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the south.
“Life is always a learning process. When we threw the ticket open in 2023, it ended badly, and that was why we lost. I realised to my surprise that the presidency relies on consensus. You cannot impose yourself on anyone or any group,” Mohammed stated.
Ahead of the 2023 polls, the PDP left its ticket open, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerging as candidate. He lost to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
That decision created cracks within the party. The G-5 governors, led by then Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, opposed the move and later worked against the PDP in the election. Wike, who had contested the primaries against Atiku, argued that zoning the presidency to the south respected Nigeria’s unwritten power-sharing balance, given that President Muhammadu Buhari, from the north, had just completed two terms.
Wike eventually supported Tinubu, who later appointed him Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
To avoid a repeat, the PDP has now zoned its 2027 ticket to the south, a decision Mohammed described as just and necessary.
“When my party decided to zone the ticket to the south, I had no objections because I knew it was for the common good, not personal interest. We have learnt from our past mistakes,” he said.
Mohammed added that since Tinubu will complete his first term by 2027, the PDP must present a strong southern candidate capable of challenging him, given what he described as poor governance under the APC.