2023 Presidency: I’ll step down for ex-President Jonathan if he decides to contest – Gov Bala Mohammed

Governor of Bauchi State Bala Mohammed has said he does not believe in zoning ahead of the 2023 presidential elections but rather believes that the focus should simply be to find a leader who is capable of leading Nigeria.

Governor Bala made the comments on a monitored Channels Television programme on Sunday.

This comes days after himself and former Senate President Bukola Saraki, were selected by the Northern Elders Forum on Friday as the consensus candidates for the Peoples Democratic Party.

According to Bala, himself and Saraki have been asked to decide on who will emerge as the candidate to represent the region.

While stating that he has the wealth of knowledge and experience to lead Nigeria, he said he will only step down for Saraki if he is convinced beyond reasonable doubts that he will do a better job come 2023.

When asked if he would step down for former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who is considered to be one of the political heavy-weights who is vying for the top job, Bala said: “why can’t Atiku step down for me”.

He explained that the only person who he would step down for is Goodluck Jonathan if he declares his interest to run for President.

“I stand by my commitment not to contest against Jonathan,” the governor said.