Bala Mohammed insists PDP needs Southern Christian Candidate for 2027

Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will prioritize presenting a southern Christian as its presidential candidate in the 2027 elections.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television Thursday, Mohammed explained that the party is determined to avoid what he described as the “mistake” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023 when it fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“What I want to say is we have not absolutely chosen or narrowed down on any person.”

*Everybody should know that PDP is open. It’s open in a manner that it is for the southerners to bring somebody, and I said with all humility, we don’t want to make the mistake of the APC,” he said.

According to him, the PDP is considering a ticket that reflects Nigeria’s diversity: “We need a Christian from the South to emerge as a presidential candidate, so that he will lead the majority of Christian southerners to come and pick the majority Muslim vice president in the North, not to put ourselves in a cul de sac the way the APC did in 2023.”

He added that the APC ticket “did not take into cognisance our diversity and people’s feelings because we have not really reached a stage where we don’t consider these factors.”

Mohammed also dismissed speculations that the party was considering pairing him with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde as a presidential ticket. He stressed that it is the prerogative of the presidential candidate to choose a running mate.

“No, that’s not what we are planning,” he clarified. “The president must be given the opportunity to choose his vice. I am not withdrawing because I want to prepare myself for the vice presidency. If it is within the judgment of our party leaders and the presidential candidate to choose me, I’m ready, but if not, I’m also ready to support whoever emerges.”

The PDP has already zoned its presidential ticket to the South, while the APC continues to face criticism for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to run alongside Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, in the last election.