Bauchi, Bauchi state – Bala Shamsu, the eldest son of Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of working against his father’s reelection in the 2023 election.
As reported on Sunday, April 13, by Premium Times, Shamsu said it is time for revenge.
In a post on his known X (formerly Twitter) page on Saturday, April 12, Shamsu stated that Atiku is unwilling to reconcile with his father ahead of the 2027 election. According to him, it would be difficult for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 and 2023 elections to obtain the Bauchi governor’s support because it is time for ‘settling scores’.
The governor’s son said in a tweet in Hausa:
“He (Atiku) didn’t work for us in the 2023 election; he worked for Air Marshal (the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Abubakar Sadiq). He deployed elites in Bauchi to fight us, and we narrowly won the election.
“Now he is taking us for granted, he doesn’t value us as humans, he is showing us that we are too small to call for reconciliation.”
Shamsu, however, did not mention the names of the Bauchi elites who teamed up against his father, the incumbent chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum.
Atiku’s 2027 presidential bid
Legit.ng reports that Atiku ran unsuccessfully for President of Nigeria six times, in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
In March 2025, the 78-year-old expressed uncertainty about contesting in the 2027 presidential election, citing the need for a strong and viable political platform.
Atiku’s remarks came shortly after he announced a coalition of opposition leaders working to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election.
Asked if he would run for president in 2027, Atiku responded:
“I don’t know because there has to be, first of all, a viable platform, more than any other time in the political history of this country, particularly since the return of democracy.”
Despite his uncertainty, Atiku did not rule out the possibility of contesting, emphasising the urgent need for competent leadership in Nigeria.
He added:
“I have not seen Nigeria in dire need of, you know, an experienced and credible leadership than this time.”
‘Tinubu to defeat Atiku, others’ – Omokri