(Governor Bala Mohammed. Photo Credit: The SUn Nigeria)
Bauchi State Gov. Bala Mohammed has 2 main goal for the 2027 elections.
He wants to get his preferred successor, Dr Yakubu Adamu, elected governor and then return to the Senate for Bauchi South.
He recently joined the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) after months of speculation that he might move to the ADC or stay in the PDP.
Opposition parties, including the APC, PRP and ADC, are also preparing to challenge him.
Bauchi’s history is not encouraging for governors who want to hand power to their chosen successor.
Since 1999, no sitting governor has managed to do it.
Adamu Mu’azu lost control to Isa Yuguda, and Yuguda’s own pick, Mohammed Abubakar, lost to Bala Mohammed in 2019.
Former governors have also struggled to win Senate seats after leaving office. Mu’azu lost Bauchi South in 2007, and Yuguda lost it in 2015.
Political analyst Abdullahi Yelwa of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University says Adamu has no strong base of his own and depends heavily on the governor.
He also points to discontent over rising living costs, compensation for homes lost to road projects and contracts some people expected but did not get.
The Senate race will be decided across seven local government areas: Alkaleri, Bauchi, Bogoro, Dass, Kirfi, Tafawa Balewa and Toro.
The APC has held the seat since 2019, and its candidate in 2023, Shehu Buba Umar, has since left the party to run for governor on the PRP ticket.
Several other APC figures have also quit, citing unfair processes.
Yelwa believes the APC would have been stronger with Buba on its ticket.
The APC’s governorship candidate, former governor Mohammed Abubakar, has the backing of the federal government but is not as popular in the state, according to Yelwa.
He warned that President Tinubu’s influence alone will not guarantee the APC victory in Bauchi.
The ADC, whose governorship candidate is Aliyu Halliru Jika, could benefit from Atiku Abubakar’s support in the North East and from voters who want change.
Yelwa thinks that 4 different people have a real chance of winning, making it impossible to guess who will come out on top.