Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has declared that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must field a Christian presidential candidate from the South in 2027 to reflect Nigeria’s diversity and avoid what he described as the “mistake” of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.
Speaking on Thursday night during an appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’, Mohammed stressed that the PDP was determined to respect the nation’s religious and regional balance in its choice of presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
“What I want to say is we have not absolutely chosen or narrowed down on any person. Everybody should know that PDP is open,” the Bauchi State governor stated.
“It’s open in a manner that it is for the southerners to bring somebody, and I said with all humility, we don’t want to make the mistake of the APC. We need a Christian from the South to emerge as a presidential candidate, so that he will lead the majority of Christian southerners to come and pick the majority Muslim vice president in the North, not to put ourselves in a cul de sac the way the APC did in 2023.”
Mohammed faulted the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, which saw President Bola Tinubu select Kashim Shettima, a former Borno State governor, as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election. According to him, the ruling party failed to consider the country’s pluralism.
“The APC picked a minority from the South, and they had to take a majority person from the North, which brought the issue of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which did not take into cognisance our diversity and our different people’s feelings. We have not really reached a stage where we don’t take consideration of all these factors,” he added.
The governor also dismissed speculation that the PDP had settled on a ticket pairing Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, as presidential candidate, with himself as running mate.
“No, that’s not what we are planning,” he clarified. “You see, I have learnt this thing because I have worked closely with the president when I was the minister of the FCT, when we came back in 2011 and formed a government. The president must be given the opportunity to choose his vice. I am not withdrawing because I want to prepare myself for the vice presidency.”
Mohammed, however, said he was open to serving in any capacity, should the party leadership or eventual candidate deemed him fit.
“Of course, if it is within the sense of judgment of our party leaders and the presidential candidate to choose me, I’m ready. But certainly, if I’m not given, I have said it to the public today, I’m ready to give whoever the party or the presidential candidate would emerge from the South to bring somebody if he is better than me,” he said.
Recall that the PDP has already zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, setting the stage for a contest that will test the party’s internal cohesion and its ability to counter the APC in the next general election.
