Bauchi State governor, Bala Muhamamd, has said that he has all it takes to challenge any aspirant running for the 2023 presidential election except former President Goodluck Jonathan who told him he might be seeking reelection, Leadership reports.
The governor last month said he informed Nigerians about his decision to either contest the 2023 presidential election or otherwise in February. He said he ought to consult “owners of
Nigeria who you have met them at home” before he discloses his resolve to vie for the presidency or not.
Governor Bala stated this after a closed-door meeting with former president Jonathan in Abuja. He said he was not in any way troubled by the prospects of any other candidate in the race to the Aso Villa in 2023.
He said if the party wanted to do justice to all, a candidate from northern Nigeria should be given the chance to face whosever the APC fields as its flag bearer.
He said governors of the southern states in the PDP had no iota of excuse for the PDP to field a presidential candidate from the South.
He said there was no doubt in his conversation with the former president that he was being consulted on the matter.
Governor Bala said Jonathan advised him not to withdraw from the race because he might be running for re-election too.
However, he said, “I told him that if he was going to run for the presidency again, I will not challenge him, and, as a benevolent son, I will not hesitate to relinquish my position on the matter.
“I told him that if he ran, I would not run, even in any party, not just the APC or the PDP. The country will not allow me to run as long as he does.”
Bala assured that although no one can stop him from contesting for the presidency, there are people who are politically influential like former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
“If Nigerians say they want Atiku, I will support them, but I will challenge anybody in the race for the presidency up to the last day.
“I think we have taken the time and learnt the lesson that is enough for us to be given the chance to contribute our quota to nation-building and help address challenges of insecurity, poverty and other issues that plague Nigeria,” the governor said.
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