I have told Atiku not to contest in 2023 - Bala Mohammed

Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State said he told Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President and the 2015 presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to contest the upcoming 2023 polls.

The governor said he told Abubakar that he is too old and fatigued with Nigeria.

He made the revelation in his speech as he received the report of a Contact and Consultation Committee which he established for his presidential ambition which was held on Friday, January 28 at Government House, Bauchi.

The committee headed by Senator Adamu Gumba, which was inaugurated in August 2021, visited 16 northern states where it interacted with various stakeholders in those states.

The Punch newspaper quoted Governor Mohammed as saying: “There is no need for us to be greedy; of course, my presidency will not cause division. You can see that at the heat of the time that my elder brother, Malam Adamu was going round, we invited our elder statesman, the one that we respect so much, the Waziri Adamawa (Atiku Abubakar), we named a road after him.

“We invited him to Bauchi and we interacted and I told him that in this game, I know he’s the most senior, he’s very qualified but because of his age and fatigue that he has suffered so much for Nigeria, he should allow his younger brother to be his spare tyre not to take over just like that.

“But if Nigerians prefer him, I will support him. I am not too desperate but he should know that Nigerians like me too. And whatever he wants, I will do it for him, so this is our agreement, he has the highest respect from me.”