Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State says the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, would not affect his re-election bid in 2019.
Abubakar, who spoke on Thursday shortly after the screening exercise organised by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the incumbent governors seeking either fresh governorship mandate or senatorial ambition, said he was not even aware that Dogara had left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said, “Well, I don’t know whether he has defected. Has he? I don’t know. But I learnt some people presented him with a form, PDP form. But we haven’t heard any specific statement from him that he has defected. So, I am waiting for that.”
On whether his defection could affect the governor’s ambition, Abubakar said, “The Speaker represents a constituency that has a total of 70,000 registered voters. In 2015, I won election with a margin of 393,000. So, that answers your question.”
He also explained the reasons why the party governors preferred indirect primaries, saying it was the choice of the state executive committees of the party.
“The position of the state executive in Bauchi State, which they took while I was away in China with Mr. President was for indirect primary.
“The constitution of the party provides for indirect. The last NEC meeting allows for the state executive committees to take charge and determine for themselves what type of primary that they want and Bauchi chose indirect,” he added.