Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed was re-elected for another tenure of four years against the wishes of aggrieved political kingmakers in the state.
Two former governors – Isah Yuguda and Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, former Wazirin Bauchim Alhaji Muhammadu Bello Kirfi and a host of other heavyweights had formed a united front to scuttle his re-election bid.
They supported Bauchi APC governorship candidate, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar (rtd) who came second in the election with 432,272 votes.
However, following the INEC declaration Bala won his re-election without the clear support of the political heroes who are oftentimes seen to be capable of doing and undoing anything within the political spaces in Bauchi.
Governor Bala, in an expose published on March 23, 2023 titled: “We will Not Be Distracted: Power Belongs to God,” wrote; “I can understand the refusal of people who were never schooled in the tenets of democracy refusing to accept that the voters do not follow orders in choosing their leaders. I can sympathise with people whose over-bloated ego preclude them from accepting defeat. I can understand the disappointment of those whose pre-election utterances bordered on playing God but who have now been compelled to swallow the bitter reality that power belongs to God. But I cannot understand desperation and lies.
“We went into the elections without the security paraphernalia boasted or brandished by some of our opponents; we went into the elections without the resources, both internal and external that our opponents mustered, we went into the elections without any godfather, let alone an Armada of “kingmakers” who arrogated to themselves the power to make and unmake leaders. Rather, we went into the elections trusting in Allah, who gives power to whom he chooses and takes it away from whom he chooses. It was in realisation of the omnipotence of Allah that I pledged, on the eve of the election, to accept the outcome of the exercise. Even now, I reiterate that position.”
LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that the governor’s motivation was the physical infrastructure that his administration delivered to the people of Bauchi State in his first tenure. The projects, cutting across towns and villages, speak volume for the robust political commitment and mindedness Bala has.
Abdul Yahaya, a Bauchi-based political analyst, said the projects the governor was able to provide campaigned for him.
He said the success recorded by the PDP during the presidential and National Assembly elections placed the party’s governorship candidate on a competitive stage above any of his opponents.
“PDP won the presidential election in Bauchi and about eight or seven members of the National Assembly out of 11 that Bauchi State has. This is in addition to two senators elected under the party.
“This political set up covering all possible areas and places in Bauchi greatly favours the party,” he said.
He added that the support the governor enjoyed from both Christians and Muslims, regardless of sect, helped him in securing re-election.
“The governor, mindful of the secular nature of the state, constructed churches and mosques in the same proportion, sponsored pilgrims from both faiths without prejudice,” he said.
