Contrary to rife reports of defection, Bauchi State governor and chairman of the party’s governor’s forum, Bala Mohammed has denied he will join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

This was disclosed by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, who is a factional leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Recall rumors emerged on Sunday, March 15 that Mohammed was finalising plan to dump the PDP for the APC after negotiations with key stakeholders in the ruling party including President Bola Tinubu.

The PDP had lost 10 governors to the APC within one year. The most recent defection is Zamfara State governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara who defected last week after the Appeal Court voided last year’s national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, which produced the Turaki-led national leadership.

The court verdict, however, prompted reconciliation talks between the Turaki-led leadership backed by the PDP governors and the National caretaker committee backed by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki-led PDP, Comrade Ini Ememobong, dismissed the defection story surrounding the Bauchi governor, assuring the party leadership that he was not defecting to APC.

According to Ememobong, what the party knows is that he (Governor Bala Mohammed) has told them that he is still in the party, saying that even up till when he had conversations with their national chairman, he insisted he is still with the PDP.
The National Publicity Secretary stated that the governor has said it in several quarters that he is comfortable in the party, stressing that they don’t know where the rumours are coming from.

On the proposed reconciliation talks within the party over the crisis, Ememobong said discussions were ongoing among stakeholders and would be guided by agreed strategies to facilitate decisions on which the reconciliation committee is working on, it has been agreed that they should keep their work an internal issue and not escalate it.