With the many controversies dogging the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it is widely held that there’s no vibrant opposition in the country.
With a little over a year to the commencement of political activities, the PDP is deeply embroiled in internal crisis, that in the views of many, appears to dim its chances in the next general elections.
Not so for the party bigwigs who remain optimistic, believing that 2027 represents one of its brightest chances so far.
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, who is also the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, is one of those upbeat that the party could cause an upset in the next presidential election.
Based on this and due to his previous engagements, he is seen as one of the likely contenders for the presidential ticket of the party for 2027.
Due to his antecedents in politics, not a few are willing to dismiss his thoughts on the matter as he seems to have a knack for reading the political weather correctly.
In 2015, when there was much expectations that he would run as governor of Bauchi State, given his popularity and the leverage his position as minister of the Federal Capital Territory accorded him, he read the handwriting on the wall and against expectations, backed down when the whistle was finally blown.
With the benefit of hindsight, that proved a wise move even at a time when nobody knew the PDP would lose the 2015 presidential election.
The Buhari tsunami that swept across Nigeria, particularly the North would definitely have swept him away had he insisted on contesting.
In 2019, when the odds seemed to be stacked against him, he again interpreted the signs correctly.
He contested against a sitting governor on the platform of an opposition party at both the state and national levels and defeated the incumbent in one of the major upsets in the 2019 elections.
But in 2023, his ability to read the crystal ball failed him. He ran for the presidential ticket of his party but lost to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
He, however, returned to clinch the ticket of the party to run for a second term as governor and won.
As 2027 approaches, he is touted as one of those that may likely run for the PDP presidential ticket.
Will he contest? The governor prefers to keep everyone guessing.
“I haven’t told anyone I want to run for president now …but if I decide to run, with the support of my people in Bauchi and across the country, I won’t fear anyone,” he said.
The governor holds an enviable record as a politician having won elections as a senator, was later appointed minister and won the governorship seat two consecutive times.
Like most politicians, however, Governor Mohammed is not without histrionics.
His presence at the inauguration of the elected local government chairmen in Rivers State which seats were won overwhelmingly by another party, the APP, caused a stir.
It was curious how a leading member of another party would gladly attend the inauguration of members of another party in an election where his party was dusted.
The drama his presence at the inauguration evinced added humour to the charged atmosphere and doused the thick tension hanging in the air.
The Kauran Bauchi, as he is fondly called, provides answers to these in this no-holds-barred interview, while commenting on several national issues, including why the problems of the North have become more complex, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies and the leadership crisis in the PDP.
He reveals that whatever happens, he is set to play a significant role in what the opposition may decide in 2027.
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