Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has described the recent Supreme Court judgment on the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a “no victor, no vanquished” situation.

Bala Mohammed made the assertion while reacting to the development in a chat with a BBC Hausa correspondent, as monitored.

According to him, “As democrats, PDP members who respect the rule of law, we hold in high esteem members of the judiciary. We have accepted the Supreme Court judgment the way it came, in good faith and compassion.”

Bala Mohammed added that, “We did not completely fall, neither was there a victor or vanquished. Everybody knew how we held on and insisted and got to this point of the highest court of the land to ensure justice for the people, particularly PDP members and Nigerians who love democracy.”

He stressed that, “We will not say that we lost everything in the fight. But though the other side too lost, none of us got what we wanted outrightly. Our Ibadan national convention was nullified; they too lost what they called national leadership.”

The Bauchi State Governor added that, “As enshrined in our party’s constitution, members of the BoT will assume leadership responsibility for the meantime, until a national caretaker committee is constituted, due to the fact that the judgment did not recognise those there now.”

Speaking further, he stated that, “We are the ones in political disarray for now because he (Nyesom Wike) is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); his children and his political followers are all in the APC. His son is contesting a House of Representatives seat under the APC, while some of his associates have since joined the APC.”

According to him, “He only remained in the PDP as a spoiler, in order to weaken it, and he has achieved his aim. But we too gained something from the fight. We did not allow him to completely take over the PDP, but it is compulsory for us to provide a platform for our teeming supporters and followers in order to aspire.”

Bala Mohammed added that, “We have discussed and taken a position. As soon as I get back to Bauchi, we will make a defining announcement on where we are going. We have been engaging with political parties because there is no time to wait for the constitution of the caretaker committee that will be accepted by INEC within five to six days. It has become expedient for us to act wisely and diplomatically to secure a political platform that is clean and crisis-free for the 2027 general elections.”

“The way things are, the prepared electoral guidelines are very difficult to interpret. They appear to favour the APC in ensuring that opposition parties struggle to field candidates. That is the more reason we must be careful and diplomatic in aligning with other political parties, though our hearts remain in the PDP, but we cannot help the situation for now,” he added.

He further stated that, “It remains only five days. Within these days, by the grace of God, we will identify where we are going in order to contest the 2027 general elections. PDP leaders can continue the struggle led by Tanimu Turaki because it is mandatory for them to seek justice and reclaim the soul of the PDP.”

He assured that, “Within the next few days, you will hear where each state will align in terms of political platforms. Our people should remain calm and be assured that they will have a platform to contest. I assure you that we will reclaim the soul of the PDP from those political opportunists.”

Bala Mohammed declared that, “I have no plans to aspire to the presidency in 2027 because, in the PDP, it has been zoned to the South in fairness and equity. I am aspiring to the Senate based on the calls by the people of Bauchi South Senatorial District to continue to serve them and provide responsible representation, as well as be a strong pillar of support to all candidates of whichever platform we align with, considering our integrity and commitment to the people’s wellbeing.”

According to him, “We are still having conversations with Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Peter Obi and others, but we all have our various platforms and our focus, but what the opposition is saying is that we should come together under one platform, though being in the same platform politically is very difficult because of the difference in locations, subregions, issues and what the people are yearning for.”

(Tribune News)