Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State, has stated that whoever emerges as the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential flag bearer in the party’s primary later this month (May) will be supported in the 2023 presidential election.
It was earlier reported that the governor, who is also one of the party’s presidential hopefuls and a former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was controversially approved as Northern consensus candidates by the Prof Ango Abdullahi-led Northern Elders’ Forum.
Mohammed said he would support whoever emerges as the party’s flag bearer in a fair, credible party primary while addressing with journalists shortly after making a private visit to Senator Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, in the state capital on Wednesday.
This, according to the governor, was done to ensure that the party recaptured the presidency from President Muhammadu Buhari “inefficient” All Progressives Congress-led administration once his term ended in 2023.
He expressed confidence that Makarfi and other party leaders would do the right thing to guarantee that the party emerged from the convention intact.
Mohammed, who said he was in Kaduna to pay a Sallah homage to Makarfi, said, “Well this is the moment to reach out in the usual Islamic tradition whenever Ramadan comes to an end. As Muslims in the first week of Shawwal, we usually go out and greet those we respect and our brothers. And Senator Makarfi is one of our leaders who has touched my life and he is somebody, I respect so much. His pedigree, his antecedents in the Senate and even in governance, is unparalleled.
“We learnt a lot from him. So yesterday, I was in Sokoto and Jigawa. From here I am going to Katsina to see another person.
“So I am in Kaduna to say ‘Barka da Sallah’ and to wish him (Makarfi) well and of course to tell him that his brother in Bauchi is thinking of him in goodwill and in fraternity. Of course, we are looking up to him as a major stakeholder in our party to ensure that the party come out of the convention intact.
“We have a tradition as a party on how leaders, as well as political offices, are shared. Don’t forget, we led this country for sixteen years. If you look at the previous conventions, we have always come out intact. This is because it is not about individual aspirations.
“So, what we want to see as presidential aspirants and delegates is to have a credible, acceptable and transparent primary. And we are ready to work with whoever emerges other than being selfish.
“So, more than ever before, the current PDP leadership has allowed each of the candidates to go out and canvass for votes. This is what we have been doing but we have the firm belief that at the end of the day, one person must emerge as the flagbearer of our great party. Whoever emerges, if it is not me, I am ready to support him.”
