BY OUR CORRESPONDENT – Caught in the web of ongoing legal bottlenecks and intractable leadership chaos in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has officially labelled his current political status as that of a “freelance politician”
Mohammed stated this on Thursday following a closed-door meeting with former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, at Ramat House in Bauchi, where both leaders held discussions, seen as part of ongoing consultations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Governor said, “Neither PDP nor ADC is standing alone. I am a freelance politician now, and his party is also in limbo. We are looking up to the judiciary. But certainly, we are all in the opposition.
“That is why I said it is a political discussion, and I will not let you know what we discussed in terms of the Is and Ts that we have crossed. But certainly, it is about realignment, alignment, and cooperation so that we can have a platform. We cannot go without a platform.”.
Obi, who flew the Labour Party’s presidential flag in 2023 election was in the North-East state with a delegation of South-East political figures political consultations.The delegation included Senator Ben Obi, former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa, senators Enyinnaya Abaribe and Victor Umeh, and literary scholar Udenta Udenta.
Speaking after the meeting, the former Anambra State governor and Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the visit was focused on building national unity and strengthening cooperation across regions.
According to Obi, “My purpose is to solicit the support and cooperation of His Excellency and the stakeholders of Bauchi and the North-East in our quest to unite this country. We want to have a united country to build a future for our children.
“The country cannot continue the way it is today; we are headed in the wrong direction, and we need to reverse that for everybody. That is the simple purpose of why we are here—to seek the support of the stakeholders of Bauchi in building a new Nigeria that will be of benefit to all.”
Though details of the meeting have not been officially disclosed the two political leaders confirmed that discussions centred on cooperation among opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
With the heightening of political activities preparatory to next year’s polls, Governor Bala and Peter Obi seem to have just resumed their collaborative engagement from the August 2025 meeting where the Bauchi State Chief Executive as Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum had played host Obi in Bauchi and encouraged him to rejoin the main opposition party.
