The meeting between Atiku Abubakar and Bala Mohammed, Governor of Bauchi State on Tuesday, may not have cemented the gulf between the two camps ahead of the 2023 presidential elections, signals coming from both quarters seem to be suggesting.
Following a letter the governor wrote to the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), revealing underhand activities of the camp of the former Vice President, who is the presidential candidate of the party to undermine his second term bid in the state, the latter had quickly moved in to contain the situation.
But it has turned out that this move might not be enough, as there seems to exist a reasonable suspicion between them, arising from the fallout of the May 2022 primaries in which both contested for the presidential ticket.
It has now emerged that Mohammed, who was the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under President Goodluck Jonathan, is not completely out of the influence of his former boss, who is believed to be bearing grudges against the former VP in the way he helped to edge him out.
In fact, it is believed that the camp of Atiku, is actually harbouring the suspicion that the former Minister shunned the attempt to withdraw for Atiku in the run for the primaries, even after being persuaded to do so by some powerful forces from the North, is in line with this development.
This development, is believed to be one of the reasons, Atiku, and his men, are said to be tilting their support towards the All Progressives Congress (APC) propping up its governorship candidate in the state, Abubakar Sadiq, an Air Vice Marshall, who retired recently as the Chief of Air Staff (CAS).
It is this realisation, on the other hand that has also seen Mohammed push further, part of which was his letter to the PDP apparatchik, through which he warned of grave consequences if the Atiku continued to support his opponents, sources close to the two camps, have said.
“What you see is cosmetic, because both camps is supicious of the order despite the meeting. Why do you think Bala didn’t step down for Atiku like Tambuwal did? It is true that Atiku is aligning with the APC because they don’t trust him. They suspect that he is a Jonathan man and being a Jonathan man, means that he has to be watched.
“On his part, Bala knows the threat against him from such an alignment and that is why he is making the move to try and blackmail them. So, what you see in the picture of the two of them being together, is just for the optics. They both know what is on ground. You see the way the governor reacted to the Wike group. He never rejected them, which tells you a lot of things. Just keep your ears to the ground,” one of the sources told Whirlwindnews.
Speaking after the visit of Wike and his group, known as PG-5, on Wednesday, the governor said: “As a loyal member of the party, I felt betrayed, hence the letter to seek for redress. The letter was written with all honesty, sincerity and a deep sense of fidelity. That was why the party invited me to discuss with its presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in Abuja.
“We discussed extensively and I have gotten some explanations because the letter I wrote was not only written by me, it was written by the PDP family in Bauchi State, the government of Bauchi State, and that is why I was there.”
Speaking on his link with the group, he said: “The Governors of G5, they called themselves ‘Integrity Group’. I’m supposed to be with them but they excommunicated me for some reason best known to them. But I’m highly connected with them, each and every one of them.
“There is no day that I don’t call to speak with each of them. The G-5 governors always look out for others in the Governors Forum, saying ‘we have something in common.’ When you know that you have people behind you, of that stature and that calibre, you feel fulfilled.”