Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State is seeking a chance to contest for a second term in office after losing the presidential primary of his party – the PDP.
The governorship ticket of his party has been in the hands of Ibrahim Kashim
Kashim, a former secretary to the state government emerged winner of the PDP primaries unopposed, with 656 votes.
His entry into the race was seen as a proxy for Governor Bala Mohammed in the event he failed to clinch the PDP presidential ticket, which he eventually lost last Saturday, scoring just 20 delegate votes
After losing, Governor Mohammed is said to have requested to be given the governorship ticket to enable him run for a second term
Earlier on Tuesday, Ibrahim Kashim was reported to have refused to withdraw for Governor Mohammed. However, the PDP spokesman in the state Inuwa Zainabari, in telephone conversation with ait.live said Kashim has withdrawn his candidature, but he did not provide any letter to back it up. Calls and messages to Kashim’s mobile line were also not acknowledged.
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Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2022, makes allowance for a candidate to withdraw, but with a caveat. “A candidate may withdraw his or her candidature by notice in writing signed by him and delivered personally by the candidate to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such withdrawal to the Commision not later than 90 days to the election”
Without a voluntary letter of withdrawal by Kashim, Governor Bala Mohammed may find it difficult to secure the ticket.
The electoral law allows a political party to conduct fresh primaries where a candidate withdraws from the race.
The spokesman for the Bauchi state chapter of the PDP says the party is making arrangements to conduct a fresh primary. The national body has however yet to confirm or deny the development
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
