The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faction backed by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has named Hon. Usman Adamu Suphi as its governorship candidate for the 2027 general elections in Bauchi State.
New Telegraph reports that the party also announced Alhaji Abdulkadir Aliyu Bababa as Suphi’s running mate.
The announcement came amid claims that the faction’s structure had collapsed into the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), a development the party dismissed as false.
Speaking at a press conference at the PDP secretariat along Maiduguri Bypass, Bauchi, the party’s Legal Adviser, Barrister Yahaya Garkuwa, said the PDP remained intact and fully prepared for the 2027 elections.
He described reports of a merger with the APM as the handiwork of individuals he accused of impersonating PDP leaders.
Garkuwa said the PDP structure led by Hon. Ibrahim Kassim Toro remained the legally recognised party structure in Bauchi State, while Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed leads the party at the national level.
He said the leadership structure had been affirmed through judicial proceedings, including judgments of the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
According to him, the Federal High Court first affirmed the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led caretaker committee, while the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment and recognised Ibrahim Kassim Toro’s leadership in Bauchi.
He added that the dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court, which, according to him, further affirmed their position.
Garkuwa alleged that members of the rival faction had resorted to spreading false information after exhausting their legal options.
He insisted that the PDP members he represented had not defected to the APM or any other political party.
“We, the authentic members of the PDP, are still in the PDP. We have not joined any other political party; we remain in the PDP,” he said.
The legal adviser said the state party leadership was preparing to institute legal action against individuals allegedly parading themselves as PDP officials.
He also challenged the rival faction to produce the names of candidates it claimed to have sponsored for the 2027 elections.
“If they are truly members of the PDP, let them name their candidates. They don’t have candidates,” he said.
Garkuwa expressed confidence that the party would perform strongly in the 2027 elections, citing its record of development projects in Bauchi State and other parts of the country.
He was accompanied at the briefing by the state party chairman, other officials, stakeholders and supporters.
