Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) needs a Christian presidential candidate from the South for the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics, Mohammed said the party must avoid what he described as the mistake of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023 when it fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“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,” Mohammed said.
The Bauchi governor stressed that PDP is still open on who emerges, but zoning to the South is already agreed upon. He explained that a balanced ticket would better reflect Nigeria’s diversity and prevent the controversies that trailed the APC’s decision to pair President Bola Tinubu with Vice-President Kashim Shettima in the last poll.
Mohammed also dismissed claims that the PDP was planning to put forward Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as its presidential candidate with him (Mohammed) as running mate.
“That’s not what we are planning. 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 sense of judgment of our party leaders and the presidential candidate to choose me, I’m ready,” he said.
The PDP has already zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region, but discussions over who the candidate will be remain ongoing.
