Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has declared himself a "freelance politician," a striking admission that lays bare the deepening crisis within Nigeria's opposition political space. He made the remark on Thursday after hosting a closed-door meeting with former presidential candidate Peter Obi at Ramat House in Bauchi.
The meeting, widely seen as part of early consultations ahead of the 2027 general elections, brought together Obi and a delegation of South-East political heavyweights, including Senator Ben Obi, former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa, senators Enyinnaya Abaribe and Victor Umeh, and Udenta
Udenta."Neither PDP nor ADC is standing alone. I am a freelance politician now, and his party is also in limbo. We are looking up to the judiciary. But certainly, we are all in the opposition," Governor Mohammed told reporters after the meeting.
The governor's words carry significant weight. Both the Peoples Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress — the party Obi moved to after his 2023 Labour Party presidential run — are currently entangled in legal battles, with the Supreme Court yet to rule on key cases affecting both parties. Mohammed, who was a prominent PDP figure, appears to be hedging his position as the political ground shifts beneath him.
He hinted that the discussions went beyond pleasantries, touching on political realignment and the formation of a viable opposition platform ahead of 2027. "It is about realignment, alignment, and cooperation so that we can have a platform. We cannot go without a platform," he said, without revealing finer details of what was agreed.
Obi, on his part, framed the visit in broader national terms. He said the visit was aimed at building unity and rallying support from the North-East ahead of efforts to "build a new Nigeria." This is not the first time the two men have sat across from each other, in August 2025, Mohammed also hosted Obi in Bauchi and at that time encouraged him to join the PDP.
That a sitting governor now describes himself as a Bala Mohammed freelance politician, unanchored to any definitive party home, signals just how fluid and unpredictable Nigeria's pre-election political landscape has become. With the judiciary holding the fate of two major opposition parties in its hands, alignments that once seemed solid are quickly becoming negotiable.
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