2023 Bauchi State gubernatorial election

The 2023 Bauchi State gubernatorial election will take place on 11 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Bauchi State, concurrent with elections to the Bauchi State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly.[1][2] It will be held two weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections. Incumbent PDP Governor Bala Mohammed is eligible to run for re-election, but has not yet stated whether he will do so.

2023 Bauchi State gubernatorial election
11 March 2023
 
Party APC PDP
Governor before election

Bala Mohammed
PDP

 Elected Governor

TBD
TBD

Electoral system

The Governor of Bauchi State is elected using a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state local government areas. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.

Background

Bauchi State is a large, diverse northeastern state with a growing economy and vast natural areas but facing an underdeveloped yet vital agricultural sector, desertification, and a rising sexual violence epidemic.

Politically, the state's 2019 elections were a mixed bag for both major parties. In federal elections, Buhari held the state for the APC albeit with a reduced margin of victory while the APC swept all senate seats by winning back two seats it lost due to defections. Both major parties lost seats in House of Representatives elections to the benefit of the minor People's Redemption Party. On the state level, Mohammed unseated APC incumbent Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar by a narrow margin as the APC held the House of Assembly. During the terms, defections rose the APC's numbers in the federal House while increasing PDP numbers in the state assembly, solidifying Bauchi's politically competitive status.

Over the course of Mohammed's term, his administration stated focuses included education, forging a positive business environment, mineral resources, and agriculture development.[3] In terms of his performance, Mohammed was praised for signing a bill to combat violence against women and following through on some campaign promises but was criticized for awarding inflated contracts to a company in which he is a director, buying the state PDP chairman a car with government money, a flawed COVID-19 response, continued corruption investigations from his time as FCT Minister, and his brief early 2021 spat with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom which descended into ethnic gibes.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Primary elections

The primaries, along with any potential challenges to primary results, will take place between 4 April and 3 June 2022.[2] In terms of zoning, some candidates and community leaders under the group Zauren Mutanen Bauchi have requested that the governorship be zoned to either the Bauchi North or Central senatorial districts as the last three Bauchi governors have come from the Southern district. However, no major party has yet closed their primaries to candidates from the South.[11]

All Progressives Congress

Arguments over zoning divided the state APC ahead of the primary as northern politicians publicly advocated for the party nominee to come from the North senatorial district while prospective candidates from other regions argued for the primary to be kept open.[12]

On 20 April 2022, the APC National Executive Committee announced the party's schedule for gubernatorial primaries, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦10 million and nomination form price at ₦40 million with a 50% nomination form discount for candidates younger than 40 while women and candidates with disabilities get free nomination forms. Forms are to be sold from 26 April until 6 May; after the submission of nomination forms by 10 May, candidates are to be screened by a party committee on 12 May while 14 May is the date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses and LGA congresses are set for between 7 and 9 May to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process will advance to a primary set for 18 May, in concurrence with other APC gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result can be made on 20 May.[13][14][15]

Declared

Potential

People's Democratic Party

Ahead of the primary, incumbent Governor Mohammed announced that he would run for president.[19] The announcement set into motion an open primary until rumours emerged that Mohammed was still looking to run for governor as a back-up plan. By May, several reports came out with confirmation that Mohammed had purchased a gubernatorial nomination form while concurrently running for president with the intention of having former Secretary to the State Government Ibrahim Kashim win the gubernatorial primary and give Mohammed the nomination if his presidential campaign failed.[20][21]

On 16 March 2022, the national PDP announced its gubernatorial primaries' schedule, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦20 million with a 50% discount for candidates between 25 and 30. Forms were to be sold until 1 April but the party later extended the deadline four times before reaching a final deadline of 22 April. After the submission of nomination forms by 25 April, candidates are to be screened by a party committee on 28 April while 2 May is the rescheduled date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses are set for 29 April and LGA congresses are set for 5 May to elect delegates for the primary.[22] Candidates approved by the screening process will advance to a primary set for 21 May, in concurrence with all other PDP gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result can be made on 24 May.[23][24]

Cleared by screening committee

Withdrew

Declined

See also

References
  1. Oyekanmi, Rotimi (26 February 2022). "It's Official: 2023 Presidential, National Assembly Elections to Hold Feb 25". INEC News. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. Jimoh, Abbas (26 February 2022). "INEC Sets New Dates For 2023 General Elections". Daily Trust. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  3. Agwam, Charles. "Bala Mohammed takes oath of office, vows to diversify Bauchi economy". Vanguard. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  4. "Bauchi State in Nigeria commits to implementation of the VAPP Law". UN Women. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. Awofadeji, Segun. "Governor Mohammed Makes an Auspicious Start in Bauchi". ThisDay. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  6. Abdulaziz, Abdulaziz. "EXCLUSIVE: Bauchi Gov. Bala Mohammed awards N3.6 billion contract to own company". Premium Times. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  7. Abdulaziz, Abdulaziz. "In awarding N3.6 billion contract to own firm, Bauchi governor duplicates purchases". Premium Times. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  8. "ICYMI: Top 5, Bottom 5; How first term Governors fared in their first year (May, 2020)". Ripples Nigeria. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  9. "NIGERIAN GOVERNORS: Fumbling, wobbling dominate June 2020 performance". Ripples Nigeria. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  10. "Ranking Nigerian Governors, February, 2021: When governors became ethnic champions". Ripples Nigeria. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  11. "2023: Group Advocates For Zoning, Power Shift In Bauchi". Wikki Times. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  12. Adenuga, David. "Katagum, Bauchi South battle for APC governorship ticket". The Nation. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  13. Majeed, Bakare (20 April 2022). "UPDATED: 2023: APC fixes presidential forms for N100 million, adopts indirect primaries". Premium Times. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  14. Angbulu, Stephen; Ayeni, Victor; Dada, Peter; Naku, Dennis; Ede, Raphael (21 April 2022). "Presidential primary: APC silent on zoning, Nigerians condemn N100m nomination fee". The Punch. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  15. APC Nigeria [@OfficialAPCNg] (April 25, 2022). "OFFICIAL" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. Agwam, Charly. "2023: Bauchi gov, Rep on warpath over house demolition, title revocation". Vanguard. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  17. Duguri, Umar Usman. "Bauchi 2023: Top Candidates To Battle Gov Bala". Desert Herald. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  18. Adenuga, David. "2023: Ex-Bauchi Gov, Abubakar plots return, reconciles with Dogara". The Nation. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  19. Oloniruha, Emmanuel. "2023 Presidency: Group purchases forms for Bala Mohammed". P.M. News. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  20. Babangida, Mohammed. "EXCLUSIVE: Presidential aspirant, Bala Mohammed, secretly buys Bauchi governorship form". Premium Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  21. Ibrahim, Kamal. "Three Candidates Jostle For Bauchi Gov'ship In PDP As Bala Favours Ex-SSG". Leadership. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  22. Angbulu, Stephen (21 April 2022). "2023: PDP extends sale of forms for fourth time". The Punch. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  23. Yakubu, Dirisu (16 March 2022). "[BREAKING] 2023: PDP Presidential primary holds in May". Vanguard. Abuja. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  24. Akpan, Samuel (17 March 2022). "2023: PDP releases pre-election schedule, fixes presidential primary poll for May 28". TheCable. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  25. Edeh, Suzan. "BAUCHI: Mu'azu's Son Joins Governorship Race Ahead 2023". Independent Nigeria. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.