How 328 delegates elected Former Suntrust Bank MD, Barde as Gombe PDP Candidate
No fewer than 328 delegates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday elected Muhammad Barde, a former Managing Director of Sun Trust Bank as its party flag bearer for the 2023 general election.
Barde, scored 160 out of the total votes cast, beat his closest rival former Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribution Company KEDCO who polled 119 votes.
Announcing the result, the Chief Returning Officer from the National PDP Secretariat, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, said the process was peacefully conducted.
Ogiadomhe, while declaring him winner of the primary election said, “Barde polled the highest votes, thereby becoming the Governorship Candidate of the PDP in Gombe State.”
Barde was first-runner up in 2018, during the All Progressives Congress primary election where he was defeated by the incumbent Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, but defected to the PDP in 2021.
Commenting on the reason for his defection in July 2021 to the Peoples Democratic Party, he ascribed it to “bad governance”.
He revealed that he defected in February 2021 when he failed to revalidate his membership with the governing party.
Barde said, “I have formally come to pay my respect to our great party, I left APC when the party asked its members to go through a revalidation exercise. Eventually, I took the membership of the party PDP on February 2nd 2021.
“I’m not leaving APC for any reason other than bad governance. What we are witnessing is a government of a person, by a person, and for a person, not a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
“At the appropriate time, we will tell indigenes of Gombe State that self-aggrandising and accumulation of wealth by one individual can not solve our problem and we are prepared to protect our commonwealth.”
However, the 51-year old Barde, while receiving his Certificate of Return, said the victory was for the people of Gombe State.
How the delegates voted;
National Delegates – 11
Akko LGA- 32
Balanga LGA- 30
Billiri- 30
Dukku LGA- 33
Funakaye- 27
Gombe- 21
Kaltungo- 29
Kwami- 28
Nafada- 26
Shongom- 29
1Y/Deba- 32
Alh Muhammad Barde Jibrin- 160
Dr Abubakar Ali Gombe- 17
Alh Adamu Shehu Sulaiman- 18
Dr Jamil Isyaku Gwamna- 119
Gimba Yau Kumo- 1
Dr Ardo Babayo Kumo- 13
