Alhaji Danjuma Barde said there was no time Mohammed announced his withdrawal from the governorship race.
According to Barde, one-time Deputy Chairman, Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state, the fact that the FCT Minister was not among the seven ministers who indicated their intentions to quit the President Goodluck Jonathan administration did not mean he was no longer interested in succeeding Governor Isa Yuguda.
He told journalists in Bauchi: “ Senator Mohammed wanted to quit but was prevailed upon by President Jonathan to hold on for now in order to enable him (the President) sort out some issues concerning the Bauchi State governorship race.
“I can tell you authoritatively that there was no time Senator Bala Muhammed withdrew from vying for the Bauchi State PDP ticket to contest for next year’s governorship election on the ticket of the party. “What happened was that he was prevailed upon by the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan to hold on a little to enable his resolve some issues bordering on the Bauchi State governorship contest.”
The PDP chieftain added that the fact that the minister did not resign by the October 20 deadline given by the party did not mean that he could not eventually leave the Federal Executive Council as the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) stipulates that any aspirant ought to resign three months before given election. “The FCT Minister is the best candidate jostling to fly the PDP’s flag in the 2015 governorship election in view of his antecedents and successes he had recorded in the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The minister will definitely replicate the same achievements in Bauchi in order to take the state to greater heights, “he said.
He, therefore, advised the ruling party to give its governorship ticket to Mohammed with a view to avoiding the disastrous outing it had in the 2007 election when it woefully lost to the now defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP). “Of all the aspirants interested in getting the PDP ticket, Senator Bala Mohammed is the best of them all. Sentiment apart, he is the only one capable of delivering Bauchi State for the party,”Barde stated.
“PDP should not make the mistake of not fielding the minister as its standard-bearer in next year’s governorship election to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2007 when the opposition ANPP defeated the ruling PDP in the state all round.”