Bala Mohammed is the Governor of Bauchi State, in his second and final term. A former journalist and civil servant, he was a senator and then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under President Goodluck Jonathan. Long one of the PDP’s most senior governors, he left the party in May 2026 for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), where he leads the coalition behind Seyi Makinde’s presidential campaign.123

Early career

Mohammed was born on 5 October 1958. He studied at the University of Maiduguri, worked as a journalist in the early 1980s and then joined the civil service, where he rose to the rank of director before retiring.1

Senator and FCT Minister

Elected senator for Bauchi South on the ANPP platform in 2007, he was one of the senators who in February 2010 backed the “doctrine of necessity” that made Vice-President Jonathan acting president during President Yar’Adua’s illness. Jonathan appointed him Minister of the FCT in April 2010, and he held the post until 2015, overseeing land administration reforms and road, rail and water projects in Abuja.1

In October 2016 the EFCC arrested him in connection with an investigation into his time as minister and held him for 49 days. An Abuja High Court later ruled the detention unlawful and awarded him compensation. He described the case as a political witch-hunt.1

Governor of Bauchi State (2019–present)

Mohammed defeated the incumbent, Mohammed Abubakar of the APC, in 2019 by 515,313 votes to 500,625, a result the Supreme Court upheld in January 2020.1 In March 2023 he was re-elected, defeating the APC’s candidate, former Chief of Air Staff Sadique Abubakar, and the election tribunal later upheld his victory.45

His government has run payroll audits to remove ghost workers, a committee to recover public assets, and programmes in housing, roads, health and education.1

The APM

As the PDP split into rival factions after 2023, Mohammed sided against the faction aligned with Nyesom Wike. On 2 May 2026 he left the PDP for the APM.2 At the party’s convention in Bauchi in August 2026 he was presented as its national leader, alongside its presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde.3 He cannot run for governor again in 2027.

References

  1. Bala Muhammed. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. Gov Mohammed dumps PDP for APM. Channels Television, 2 May 2026. ↩ ↩

  3. APM re-elects Dantalle, backs Makinde–Daura ticket ahead of 2027. Arise News, August 2026. ↩ ↩

  4. Gov Mohammed reelected in Bauchi. ThisDay, 20 March 2023. ↩

  5. Tribunal upholds Bala Mohammed’s election as Bauchi governor. TheCable, 2023. ↩