A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima, has claimed that 34 and a half governors are already backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Galadima made the claim during the inauguration of the party’s national reconciliation committee, where he assessed the political alignment of governors ahead of the presidential contest.
According to him, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is the only governor who has openly distanced himself from both Tinubu’s camp and the opposition coalition.
Galadima described Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed as the “half” governor, saying he remained undecided on whether to align with the ruling party or the opposition.
“There are thirty-four and a half governors. The one who is not with him, visibly shown, is Seyi Makinde. The half is Bala Mohammed,” he said.
He disclosed that Mohammed had met with NDC stakeholders and initially appeared willing to work with the coalition before later reconsidering his position.
“Mohammed is half, because Bala Mohammed met with us after the wee hours of the night, 3:00 a.m. We parted; we were both at the NDC together. Just for him in the morning to call that he has rescinded his decision, that he was advised not to go into any party with a strong presidential candidate,” Galadima said.
He added that the Bauchi governor could still move in either direction.
“So, it means Bala Mohammed is on the fence. He may work with us; he may work with them. That’s why he’s half, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Galadima also argued that the ruling party enjoys an advantage because it has the power to manage competing political ambitions through negotiation and compensation.
He said the opposition, by contrast, would have to rely more heavily on persuasion, patriotism and a shared desire to challenge the current government.
“If you are in power, you have the authority to say, look, we are only fielding this man; all of you step down. Or they can compensate you. We have nothing to compensate anybody, except we reason, except patriotism, that we need to salvage this country,” he said.
