The political landscape in Bauchi State took a dramatic turn on Wednesday as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, led a high-powered delegation to meet with Governor Bala Mohammed at the Government House.
The visit, which included Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, comes on the heels of reports that Governor Mohammed is planning to exit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The meeting was held behind closed doors, with no official statement issued to the press afterward.
However, sources within the Government House suggest the visit was a strategic move by the APC leadership to persuade Mohammed—the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum—to join the ruling party instead of his rumored move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The sources also confirmed to OBSERVERS TIMES that the national chairman is ready to offers all the privileges to Bala Mohammed including soft landing to the ongoing EFCC case against his commissioner and state government, als right to nominates his successor
The meeting occurred less than 24 hours after Mohammed hosted an ADC delegation led by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal. Following that meeting, the Governor lamented the “irreconcilable” crisis within the PDP.
“I have done everything possible to ensure reconciliation, but it has not worked,” Mohammed stated on Tuesday. “As of now, the ADC appears to be a very welcoming platform. We are engaging stakeholders to ensure we do not make a mistake.”
While Mohammed previously suggested that the APC had not shown interest in him, the sudden arrival of the APC top brass suggests the ruling party has now “opened its doors” to the Bauchi helmsman.
