BAUCHI State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed, has blamed the party’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election on its refusal to zone the ticket to the southern region of the country.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, Mohammed admitted that the party’s decision to throw the ticket open was a strategic blunder that cost it the presidency.
“Life is always a learning process. When we did it [throwing the ticket open] in 2023, it was not a pleasant experience, and that was why we lost,” Mohammed said.
“I discovered to my surprise that the presidency is a consensus phenomenon. You cannot impose yourself on anybody or any group.”
In the run-up to the 2023 election, the PDP jettisoned zoning and allowed all aspirants to contest. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the party’s flagbearer but was defeated by Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
That decision created sharp divisions within the party. A group of five governors, known as the G-5, led by then; Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, openly opposed the move, insisting that zoning was necessary for fairness and balance in Nigeria’s power rotation.
Wike, who lost the primary to Atiku, argued that after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office, power should have naturally shifted to the South.
The internal crisis deepened as the G-5 withheld support for Atiku, and Wike eventually backed Tinubu, who later appointed him as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Learning from its bitter experience, the PDP has now zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, citing the need for equity and correction of past mistakes.
Governor Mohammed, who had previously shown interest in contesting for president in 2027, said he fully supports the decision.
“When my party decided that we would zone this [ticket] to the south, I had no qualms because I knew it was for the common good and not about personal interest,” he said. “We have learnt our lessons from the mistakes we made in the past.”
The Bauchi governor stressed that the zoning arrangement positions the PDP to challenge the APC more effectively in the next general election.
He argued that President Tinubu’s administration has so far underperformed, creating an opportunity for the opposition.
“Since Tinubu is about to finish his first term, the PDP needs somebody strong or stronger than him from the South to give him a fight for his life,” Mohammed declared. “The government of the day is not working very well.”
