Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has addressed concerns surrounding his absence from the New Year visit by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to President Bola Tinubu’s residence in Lagos.
The visit, which took place on Wednesday, saw governors from across the country gathering at the President’s Bourdillon Road home in Ikoyi, Lagos, to exchange New Year greetings and discuss national matters.
Prominent among those present were governors Abba Yusuf (Kano), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), and Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers), alongside others from states like Borno, Ondo, and Delta. However, Governor Bala Mohammed, who chairs the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, was notably absent.
Commentators have been quick to link his absence to ongoing disagreements with the Presidency, particularly over President Tinubu’s proposed tax reforms. In recent weeks, the governor had openly criticized the reforms, describing them as harmful to the economy, while the Presidency accused him of issuing veiled threats.
However, in a statement released on Thursday, Mukhtar Gidado, the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, dismissed such claims. According to Gidado, Governor Mohammed was unable to attend due to the death of his stepmother, Hauwa Duguri, who passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of 102.
“The governor’s absence has no political undertone whatsoever,” Gidado clarified. “His stepmother, Hauwa Duguri, passed away on the very day of the visit, and the governor has been in mourning. As we speak, he is at his family home in Duguri, receiving sympathisers and paying his respects.”
Gidado emphasized that speculations linking the governor’s absence to his disagreements with the Presidency were baseless and unfair. “The governor is deeply committed to serving the people of Bauchi and Nigeria. Reading political meaning into his personal bereavement is both insensitive and unnecessary,” he added.
