Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has rejected the conditions put forward by the camp of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, declaring that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not succumb to threats ahead of its forthcoming national convention.
The governor, who is the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, made the disclosure at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja during the inauguration of the PDP National Convention Organising Committee.
Mohammed dismissed Wike’s factional push, warning that the party must not be taken for granted.
“If anybody wants to form a faction of fools, we will allow him. We are not cowards and we are not afraid of any person. We agree to consensus and accommodation, but that is not cowardice. We can’t keep quiet and allow people to continue to take us to the slaughter house or take us for granted. Enough is enough,” Mohammed said.
The governor insisted that the party’s national convention scheduled for November 15–16 in Ibadan was “sacrosanct” and would proceed as planned.
His remarks followed Monday night’s communique by stakeholders loyal to Wike, operating under the banner of the Eminent Leaders and Concerned Stakeholders of the PDP. The group had warned that the Ibadan convention would be “invalid” unless their demands were implemented.
Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who read the communiqué after a three-hour closed-door meeting attended by Wike, PDP National Secretary Sam Anyanwu, and others, said their position was rooted in “equity, justice, inclusivity, and the rule of law.”
Among the resolutions, the faction insisted that there should be no micro-zoning beyond the formula adopted by the party’s National Executive Committee in 2021, maintaining that the National Chairman position must remain in the North Central. They also demanded fresh congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra States, a new South-East zonal congress, recognition of the South-South congress held in Calabar, and an immediate conduct of local government congresses in Ekiti State.
Failure to honour these demands, the group warned, would delegitimize the convention and further fracture the party.
