Except the unintended happens, all appears set for the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Tuesday, in furtherance of his political sojourn.
THISDAY had exclusively reported Mohammed’s plan to quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, after recently meeting President Bola Tinubu and the APC leadership.
His prospective membership of the APC was said to have been cemented following several discussions in the last couple of weeks.
The ruling APC is said to have conceded to him 60/40 power sharing formula and ticket to the senate.
However, the contentious issue to be resolved is whether Bala Mohammed will be allowed to nominate his successor.
According to sources, the president was said to have insisted on handing over the structure of APC in the state to the party leadership, and not any individual, on account of the political sensitivity of the state, which borders many power centres and tendencies.
This is because, for example, persons like the Minister of Health, Ali Pate; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar and an oil and gas professional, Bala Wunti – all from the state – are also interested in the governorship.
Although his request for a 60/40 power/structure sharing ratio, has been granted, Mohammed still insisted he should be given the honour and privileges of nominating his successor, the same courtesy he said was extended to others before him.
The contentious issue of nominating his successor, even though unresolved, Mohammed has concluded plans to join the APC tomorrow at a ceremony to be witnessed by all key actors of the party.
By his eventual membership of the APC, therefore, he would have marked up the ranks of the ruling party’s governors to 32, leaving the opposition PDP, LP, APGA and Accord parties with one each.
Meanwhile, ahead of the proposed reconciliatory between the Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, today, the Wike group has listed what it described as two non-negotiable conditions in the expected talks.
Just like the Turaki-led PDP had last week insisted that the party must contest all positions in the 2027 general election and the party must not be allowed to die, the Wike group said the March 29 national convention must hold as scheduled.
National Publicity Secretary of the National Caretaker Committee loyal to Wike, Haruna Mohammed, told THISDAY in a chat they had their own non-negotiable conditions.
According to the spokesman of the Wike group, “We are open for reconciliation but we have conditions that are non-negotiable. And each group is expected to come to the negotiation table with their terms and conditions.
“Number one condition of our group to the reconciliation talks was that the March 29 national convention is not negotiable. It must hold. The congresses are ongoing in the local government areas and states
“Number two condition is that the setting up of another national Caretaker Committee in whatever name should not be entertained because there is already one in place,” the spokesman of the National Caretaker Committee said.
He disclosed that each group to the meeting was expected to come with their written conditions to avoid any group being misquoted, adding that each group must be ten in number.
Commenting on the reconciliation, Senator Samuel Anyanwu said there were plans for the reconciliation between the two camps.
He, however, maintained that there was no truce reached so far, stressing that there have been talks between each other to soften the grounds to reach a quick resolution of the PDP crisis.
“We have been meeting but no truce yet,” he. said.
A chieftain of the PDP, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, said the current challenges facing the party were not as serious as widely perceived, insisting that the party remained a strong opposition platform.
Pearse said this while reacting to the recent Appeal Court ruling invalidating the outcome of the 2025 Ibadan PDP National Convention and the lingering leadership crisis in the party.
Pearse, who served on the 2023 Presidential Campaign Committee of Atiku Abubakar and Convener of the Reset Lagos PDP group, maintained that the party remained relevant despite the internal disputes.
“What is happening to the PDP is not as disastrous as many people think. People in their minds are still with the party as the main opposition party.
“PDP is still the biggest threat to the ruling party and that is why the troubles are many. The loss of some governors and lawmakers to the ruling party and other political parties does not show we are finished at all,” he said.
Meanwhile, an embattled founding member of the PDP, Sule Lamido, has called on party stakeholders to close ranks and rally behind the caretaker leadership structure associated with Nyesom Wike, warning that continued internal divisions could further weaken the opposition party.
Lamido made the appeal during a Ramadan Iftar with PDP leaders and stalwarts at his residence in Bamaina, Jigawa State, where he stressed the need for reconciliation and collective responsibility in stabilising the party.
The former governor said the PDP must prioritise unity and political survival rather than deepen internal rivalries that could diminish its relevance in Nigeria’s political landscape.
According to Lamido, the caretaker arrangement supported by Wike emerged out of necessity following the expiration of the tenure of the party’s National Working Committee.
He described the FCT minister as a politically calculating figure, who acted quickly to fill the leadership vacuum that threatened to paralyse the party.
“Wike is a very strategic politician. When the leadership tenure ended and a vacuum appeared, he moved swiftly to establish a caretaker committee. At that moment, it became the only functional structure available.
“Some people may not agree with him politically, but that should not stop us from engaging him in the spirit of unity and brotherhood. The task before us now is reconciliation and rebuilding the party,” he said.
Chuks Okocha
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