Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), alongside loyalists aligned with the Tanimu Turaki-led faction.
Mohammed made the announcement on Saturday at the Government House in Bauchi, where he was joined by the APM National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, and other party officials.
“After extensive consultation, we have taken a firm and strategic decision to join the Allied Peoples Movement,” the governor said, adding that the move was aimed at providing a credible platform ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the decision was driven by the need to effectively mobilise supporters and offer what he described as a coherent alternative to Nigerians.
“With the elections approaching, we cannot allow our people to be without a credible and effective political platform,” he stated.
Mohammed expressed appreciation to the PDP, under which he was elected governor in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, noting that the party had played a significant role in his political journey.
Dantalle formally received the governor into the APM, presenting him with the party’s membership card and symbol.
The defection followed a closed-door stakeholders’ meeting and brings to an end months of speculation over Mohammed’s political future amid internal crises within the PDP.
Until his exit, Mohammed served as chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and was among the last remaining PDP governors alongside Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
Earlier consultations involving the APM, PDP stakeholders, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had failed to produce a unified political alignment, paving the way for his eventual move to the APM.
