2023 General Elections: Bauchi Senator Decamps To PDP From NNPP

Bauchi State lawmaker, Senator Lawal Yahaya Gumau, has decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

The senator representing Bauchi South senatorial district under the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) announced his defection to the state’s ruling party on Friday (today), Naija News understands.

Gumau’s defection may be unconnected with his defeat at the just concluded 2023 national assembly elections.

The politician had contested and won the senate seat in a by-election in 2018 to represent the Toro Federal Constituency on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform. He defeated his then-closest rival, Ladan Salihu of the PDP.

However, Guman failed to get the party’s ticket in May 2022 to contest the Senate seat in the 2023 general elections. He decamped to the NNPP and narrowly got the ticket after serious wrangling between him and the current Member of the House of Representatives representing Bauchi Federal Constituency, Yakubu Shehu.

Gumau was said to have been favoured by the national leadership of the NNPP and its presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, ahead of Shehu.

Unfortunately, he lost his re-election to the upper chamber following the abysmal performance of the NNPP in the 2023 presidential and national assembly elections. Due to the development, Gumau, along with his campaign coordinators and supporters, withdrew their membership from the NNPP and declared their allegiance to the PDP in Bauchi.

Naija News understands that Gumau announced his defection into the PDP during an interactive session with the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.

The lawmaker declared his support for Mohammed’s re-election bid and directed his supporters across his senatorial district to massively vote for the governor and all the House of Assembly candidates in the March 11 elections.

He said the governor has performed above average expectations, hence the need for all and sundry to support him to succeed in his re-election bid for the execution of more developmental projects for the state’s and its people’s best interest.

“The most important thing is not about the party; it is the personality that attracted us to the party. I returned to PDP because of Kauran Bauchi, who is my leader, mentor and person who I always followed for me to succeed in politics.

“I joined the governor now because I want my people to feel the impact of democracy and after a thorough investigation, I realised that Kauran Bauchi is the best, and his performance is the main reason for us to come to him.

“My supporters should thank God we have a reliable leader who we can trust. Governor Bala Mohammed is the kind of leader that, even without asking him, he will remember that he has a duty to do things.

“He is working not necessarily on what people ask him to do, he does what he believes is good for his people and therefore, we must vote for His Excellency to enable him to continue doing his good work for our dear Bauchi State,” he stated.

Responding to the development, the state Governor, Bala Mohammed, commended Gumau and all his supporters and campaign coordinators for their bold steps and welcomed them to the ruling camp in the state.

He promised to provide them with a level playing field to contribute positively towards the victory of all the candidates of his new party in the forthcoming governorship and state assembly elections in the state.