Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed on Saturday said it was a pity former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, wasn’t consulted before he was selected as one of the Peoples Democratic Party’s consensus candidates by northern elders.
Governor Mohammed and former Senate President Bukola Saraki said on Friday that they had emerged as consensus candidates after a decision by northern elders of the PDP.
But Lamido, a PDP chieftain, said the northern elders who sanctioned the consensus did not speak for PDP members in the North.
READ ALSO: PDP Northern Elders Who Endorsed Saraki, Mohammed Spoke For Themselves – Sule Lamido
“The position of the northern elders is not only injurious to the North but equally injurious to the northern aspirants,” Lamido said.
Reacting to the former Governor’s statement, Mohammed said his selection was the work of God and was not influenced in any way.
“Just yesterday I was selected as one of the consensus candidates for the PDP for the next presidential election,” he said. “People may take it as something that is influenced, that we have gone to look for or ask people to give us the recognition – far away from that.
“It is also a mark of recognition and the work of God that I will not take for granted.
“I have tremendous respect for Alhaji Sule Lamido as a former Governor and who is leading former Governors. He is entitled to his opinion. I did not know what the Northern Elders used or who they have contacted to come up with the consensus. It’s a pity if he’s not consulted or if he was not contacted but certainly, he is not the only person in Northern Nigeria and those that have been contacted have done the job on his behalf because such a responsibility is always done on behalf of others. But he is entitled to his opinion and we respect him. But certainly, even if he does not endorse us, others have endorsed us.
The Governor was speaking in Bauchi shortly after receiving the nomination letter of the Sun Governor of the Year, 2021.
He also acknowledged that there are those who did not participate in the consensus like Mr Atiku Abubakar and that they will reach out to him and other Southern aspirants, including the Sule Lamido group, to ensure that they work together and reach an agreement.
