How we plan to reclaim Bauchi governorship seat in 2023 —Mohammed, APC chieftain

Sabo Mohammed, a former publicity secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in this interview with journalists, boasts that the guber candidate of the APC in the Air Marshall Saddique Baba Abubakar (retd) will unseat Senator Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State next year.

As a critical stakeholder in the APC in Bauchi State, what do you think are the prospects of the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Saddique Baba Abubakar? Can he unseat Governor Bala Mohammed who people believe is doing well for the state?

Let me start by debunking that notion. There is no doubt about it that the APC governorship candidate, Air Marshall Saddique Abubakar (retired) stands a better chance of dislodging the PDP-led administration and win the forthcoming governorship election in Bauchi State. Incumbency doesn’t work in Bauchi because we have precedence to support our argument. In 2007, Mallam Isa Yuguda, our fourth democratically elected governor, dislodged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from top to bottom and of recent in 2019 you know what happened, APC had everything at its disposal, but Senator Bala Mohammed dislodged the then incumbent, Mohammmed Abdullahi. So, in Bauchi, the issue of incumbency is just a matter of rhetoric.

Don’t you think that the incumbency is a big factor and will play out in the elections?

Let me stress it that the issue of incumbency in Bauchi State is mere rhetoric. Our people are very versatile. They are wise and well informed and they know what they want and they will go the extra mile to defend what they want as they have demonstrated in 2007 and 2019 respectively. So, it is easier for Saddique Abubakar to dislodge the incumbent governor.

Do you think that the APC gubernatorial candidate has the structure to defeat the PDP candidate?

The APC governorship candidate, Air Marshal Abubakar, has brighter chances of dislodging the incumbent Senator Mohammed hands down. If you go through the political events that brought Governor Mohammed to the realms of power, he has made many mistakes. He made a lot of promises that centred round the welfare of civil servants. He talked about improvement of business activities in Bauchi and a lot of palliatives to entrepreneurs and small businesses. He promised to recruit 5,000 workers or thereabout. He promised to reinvigorate the lost traditional institutions to restore their lost glory. He promised to improve the general well being of the citizens, but the reverse is the case as we speak.

You think those things will stand against his chances of getting reelected?

Yes, that is why we are optimistic and hopeful that APC will definitely dislodge Governor Mohammed going by his pedigree. We have a solid candidate that can dislodge and sack the PDP government in the state.

What are your reasons?

The former Chief of Air Staff, Saddique Abubakar, has served the country well and was among the longest serving service Chiefs. And in appreciation, they were settled with Ambassadorial appointments, the first in the history of the country. The candidature of Saddique Abubakar has excited the people of Bauchi State because of his immense investments in the lives of citizens of the state. While he was in the Air Force, he reciprocated the gesture by bringing quite a number of projects that truly impacted positively on the lives of the people. Look at the Air Force Base, secondary school, referral medical hospital, his foundation that has impacted positively on the lives of the people in paying the school fees, especially for our young people at the secondary school level who from the inception, this administration has refused to pay their fees and that is why people like Saddique Abubakar are paying the fees to alleviate the suffering of the parents.

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Which of  the qualities Abubakar do you consider good enough to win him the gubernatorial election?

If you look at the way he quickly adapted to the political scene and mingled with the crème de là crème in the society, you will agree with me that he has all it takes to win the election. He has assisted tremendously in holding the party, his humility too has endeared him to many people in the state. Because of his cool headedness, he is winning more support from the people and also because of his desire to bring true change which the people of Bauchi State really desire. The ruling PDP in the state has failed to deliver on the promises that contributed to its success. Governor Mohammed went about spending money on a presidential campaign he knew he was not going to win. This made members of the PDP to lose confidence in his political ability. All these put together will give APC and its candidate an edge.

It is believed that it is going to be a tough fight between the two candidates. Do you think so too?

It has always been like that. Look at what happened in Sokoto State in 2019 to be precise, you remember that the incumbent Governor Tambuwal won the election with just 300 votes. So, in Bauchi, it has always been a battle of the titans, but at the end of the day, you know that our people love the APC brand and if you look at the structure of the governors in the state are predominantly controlled by the APC which makes Bauchi an APC state. We are going to ride on these to sell the credentials of Saddique Abubakar to the people and I am optimistic that we can dislodge the incumbent.

What is your reaction to the gale of defections in the APC, don’t you think it will negatively affect your chances of winning the election?

The gale of defections of some aspirants of the APC to other parties in the aftermath of the primaries will not affect the fortunes of the party. I want to advise those who lost out to concede defeat and come on board to work for the success of the party.

How can you win them back to APC?

Let me talk about Senator Haliru Dauda Jika whom I respect as well as the likes of Lawal Yahaya Gumau. I think that they have made great mistakes and to me, with all humility, I think that they are ingrates because look at it that they are beneficial to the struggle to bring APC to stand strong in the state from 2013 to 2015. They have won elections at primary levels within the party and at the general election. They should remember as Muslims, as believers that they defeated some people at the various levels of the elections and people conceded defeats as a will of the Almighty God.

But they have the right to move on and join any political party of their choice

There decision is ill-timed considering the way that the APC is gaining ground. The primary was fair enough because the delegates voted for the person they wanted without any coercion or intimidation. The conduct was transparent enough and adjudged as the best by all observers. If it were a consensus arrangement that was adopted, they would have had a good basis to complain. They should have accepted the results in good faith and joined hands in making the party stronger for the election, considering the fact that we have a candidate loved by the people.

How will their exit affect the chances of the APC?

It will not because the defection is over publicized because at the end of the 2023 general election, that will be the end of their political journey and some of them will start coming back to the APC, but it would have been too late then. The two of them are holding key positions in the Senate. If you recall in 2007 when Mall Isa Yuguda left PDP, the people voted for him based on what they wanted. Some of us contested elections since 2015 and lost but we remain committed to the APC. I urged our aggrieved members to rescind their decisions and support Saddique Abubakar so that they do not lose their place when APC wins the forthcoming election.

What is your message to APC members in the state?

My advice to the APC members is that they should keep selling the good of the candidates of the party across the state, go get their PVCs and be ready to cast their vote and ensure that the votes are protected in order to make it count. They should avoid campaign of calumny but issue-based campaign to win more support.