BAUCHI GOVERNOR’S PLANNED DEFECTON TO APC DERAILED OVER POWER-SHARING DISAGREEMENT

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By: Muftau Fatimo

The planned defection of Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been shelved following disagreements over a proposed power-sharing arrangement.

Chairman of the Turaki-led PDP faction in the state, Sama’ila Burga, disclosed this on Saturday while speaking with journalists in Bauchi.

According to him, consultations between the governor, his faction, and the APC leadership ended in a deadlock after the ruling party reportedly rejected a proposed 60/40 sharing formula for control of the party structure in the state.

The development effectively stalls the governor’s anticipated move to the APC, at least for now, amid ongoing political realignments ahead of future elections.

Meanwhile, the governor and his supporters have, however, declared their openness to align with other political parties, noting that plans were underway to consider fresh options for possible defection from the ward to the state level.

Burga further stated that the APC had shown it was not ready to accommodate the PDP structure and the state government.

According to him, the APC initiated talks through the governor, involving its national leadership and the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, who visited Bauchi to persuade Mohammed to join the party.

He said the discussions, however, stalled after the APC failed to agree to the 60–40 sharing formula, which he noted had been adopted in similar defections in other states.

“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.

“We have called for this press conference at the instance of His Excellency, the Governor, who is leading the discussions,” he said.