Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state took a swipe of the 2019 general election and submitted that PDP Presidential candidate was deserted by the North-East and contributed to his defeat.
Looking back at the 2019 General elections particularly the presidential race between defeated PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari who contested under the platform of the ruling APC, it was observed that though Atiku Abubakar was the most qualified candidate for the election, he was betrayed and hounded by his very constituents in the North East who jettisoned him for the other candidate.
It was also observed that the elites are the major problems in the party, attributable to their ambitions, permutation and or strategies, hence the need for the accommodation of each other and coming together to forge ahead.
The declaration was made by the Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir who said that, “Our man (Atiku) has tried everything humanly possible to become president of Nigeria, did we support him very well, no we didn’t, so we don’t blame anybody for our failure. He was the most qualified person, but we didn’t go extra mile to support him, some of us were even against him as North Easterners”.
Bala Mohammed who was speaking during the recent North-East PDP stakeholders meeting held in Bauchi said that he concurs with the adage that says ‘charity begins at home’ , stressing that gone are the days when the North East will be left behind or marginalize by its own very people.
The Governor defended the North-East zone declared that “We are the most visible people in the Government of Preside Muhammadu Buhari. Most of the positions in the presidency are occupied by the North Easterners, so the presidency is being owned and manned by the North East, the Chief of Staff, the SGF, the National Security Adviser, so many national security apparatus is being manned by North Easterners”.
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He, however, lamented that, what is lacking is for the elites of the subregion to put their heads together and remind people in the presidency that they are the representatives of the North Easterners, Meaning in Hausa ‘Da Bazar Mu Suke Rawa’.
He added that, “If you leave your own on his own, he will leave you, others will come and occupy the political and social spaces around him, so we must be interacting”.
Bala Mohammed then outlined the agenda of the Bauchi zonal caucus meeting of the PDP which was to discuss the possibility of changing the enemies of the party, accommodating the lodgers, and allowing the continuation of those who did not end their tenures to make more inroads.
The governor then recommended three key agendas of the Bauchi meeting to all the states, kicked against the opening of new frontiers that could cause disaffection among party members, saying the current PDP congresses across the states are geared to form structures that could move the party forward.
Bala Mohammed further expressed belif that “as a leader, a governor or deputy, you say you must know everybody, then you are going to cause disaffection. You must give leadership in a manner that is a delegation of responsibility”.
While declaring the caucus meeting opened, PDP North-East Zonal Chairman, Barrister G.T Kataps said that every party member is a stakeholder in ensuring that PDP formed the national government come 2023.
The meeting was attended by most of the PDP chieftains across the North East zone and beyond, including the deputy national chairman of the party, Suleiman Nazif Gamawa; deputy Governor of Adamawa state, Mr. Crowther Seth, and the deputy governor of Taraba state, Sen Grace Bent, Maina Waziri among others.
and then