Governor Bala Mohammed has reportedly terminated his planned move to the All Progressives Congress following a breakdown in negotiations with the ruling party’s leadership.
The highly anticipated political realignment hit a brick wall when the APC refused to accept the governor’s terms regarding the control of the party’s administrative structure within Bauchi State.
Sources close to the discussions revealed that the stalemate centered on a proposed power-sharing arrangement that would have given the governor’s camp significant influence over the party at all levels.
The Chairman of the Turaki-led PDP faction, Sama’ila Burga, briefed journalists on Saturday regarding the collapse of the talks. According to Burga, the governor had requested a 60–40 formula for the distribution of party leadership positions from the ward level up to the state executive.
He noted that while this template has been utilized for defecting governors in other states, the APC leadership remained adamant in their refusal to grant such concessions.
Burga argued that it was unreasonable to expect a sitting governor to collapse his entire existing structure into a new party without maintaining a majority share of its control.
The negotiation process reportedly involved high-level mediators, including the National Leadership of the APC and Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, who had previously visited Bauchi to facilitate the move. Despite these interventions, the PDP faction in Bauchi has now formally resolved to end all communication with the APC.
Burga stated, “This is how it has been done in other places where governors defected to APC. They rejected this formula and we have closed that discussion. You cannot expect a government bringing its structure from ward level to the state not to have control of the party.”
Governor Mohammed’s team emphasized that the decision to walk away was made after extensive deliberation with key stakeholders who felt the APC was not genuinely ready to accommodate the state government’s interests. The faction expressed their disappointment that the conditions for a fair political merger were not met.
“We have called for this press conference at the instance of His Excellency, the Governor, who is leading the discussions,” Burga added, confirming that the governor was fully briefed on the finality of the decision.
With the APC option now off the table, the Bauchi State government is reportedly scouting for alternative political platforms to house its structure. The governor’s supporters have indicated that they remain open to aligning with other parties that are more willing to accept their terms.
“After careful consideration, it became clear that the conditions collectively advanced for such a political realignment were not accepted by the APC leadership. In light of this, we want to announce that the discussions have not yielded a conclusive outcome and are hereby formally discontinued,” the faction chairman declared.
The political atmosphere in Bauchi remains tense as the Governor weighs his next move ahead of future elections. The PDP faction reiterated that their priority remains the best interests of the people of the state.
“While we appreciate the outreach and engagement by the APC, we wish to state unequivocally that the process has now been brought to a close. Consequently, the PDP in Bauchi State, in consultation with His Excellency and other critical stakeholders, is actively considering all available political options other than the APC to determine the most suitable path forward in line with the aspirations and best interests of the people of Bauchi State,” the statement concluded.
