Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has declared that he and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde would form a “perfect match” if paired on a joint ticket for the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Governor Mohammed said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should pair a Christian from the South with a Muslim from the North.
“Seyi Makinde–Bala Mohammed ticket can match even better. Because to me, it depends on what Nigerians want. If they want the continuation of this clueless administration, then it is the choice of Nigerians. But certainly they have seen the pedigree, the capacity of Seyi and my humble self at the subnational level.”
He added that while he admires Makinde, many potential running mates have emerged across the country:
“And of course, it is not only Seyi; there are so many people that may even come up. And there are so many people that can be good vice president. What we are saying is that this time around, if Nigerians are selling this option, they should be given the opportunity.”
“But of course, there are so many options that, maybe, you don’t want to mention, and I don’t want to mention, that people are talking in terms of pairing. It is all these narratives that would go into the consciousness or the senses of judgment of our party people and even the presidential candidate, when he emerges.”
Mohammed emphasized that the PDP remains open and inclusive at this stage:
“What I want to say is, we have not absolutely chosen or narrowed down on any person. Everybody should know that PDP is open. It’s open in a manner that it is for the southerners to bring somebody.”
He urged the party to avoid repeating the APC’s mistake of endorsing a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023:
“We don’t want to make the mistake of the APC. We need a Christian from the South to emerge as a presidential candidate so that he will lead the majority of Christian southerners to come and pick a majority Muslim vice president in the north, not to put ourselves in the cul‑de‑sac the way a man in APC did in 2023, when they picked a minority from the south.”
“And they had to take a majority person from the north, which brought the issue of Muslim‑Muslim ticket, which did not take into cognisance our diversity and our different peoples’ feelings. This is because we have not really reached a stage where we don’t take into consideration all these factors.”
