Wike sponsored Bala’s governorship election, but got betrayed – Dogara reveals untold story

By DailyTimesNGR

29 January 2025

News

By Ukpono Ukpong

In a stunning exposé, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has revealed an untold account of how the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, played a pivotal role in securing Governor Bala Mohammed’s emergence as Bauchi State Governor in 2019.

In a press statement he personally signed, Dogara accused Bala of ingratitude, betrayal, and moral bankruptcy, painting a picture of a man who turned his back on his benefactors.

Dogara gave a detailed account of how Wike whom he described as the unlikely hero of Bala’s political ascendancy, saved the Bauchi Governor, who was on the brink of political defeat during the 2018 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primaries, in the State.

“Governor Bala Mohammed’s recent outbursts against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyeson Wike, though not entirely surprising have only served to expand the vistas of ingratitude and treachery based on what I know.

“As someone who knows so much because I was the provocateur of the events between the two that I will speak to, I consider my silence not just cowardice but complicity.

“Need I remind Governor Bala Mohammed that in 2018 PDP Gubernatorial primaries when we were not too sure he will win because, his then major opponent, Senator Abdul Ningi was the one who constituted the State party structure and had a bosom friend as Party chairman, it was Wike we turned to for help. I had called Wike to plead with him to help us in Bauchi without necessarily disclosing to him that it was Bala Mohammed that we wanted delivered. His response to me was, “Are you sure you are in control of the process 100 per cent?” I said, I wasn’t too sure and he said to me, leave it to me, I will help you sort it out.

“To do it, Wike first of all made his bosom friend and close ally, Chief Dan Osi Orbih the Chairman of the Panel for the Primaries and said I should discuss whatever I wanted with Chief Dan. We got talking and on the eve of the Primaries, Chief Dan was in Benin city and we needed to get him to Bauchi for the assignment, it was to Wike that I turned to again and his response to me was, my brother, I have told you not to bother about this. Tell Chief Dan to come to meet me in Port Harcourt. I did just that, and amazingly, Wike provided the private jet that flew Chief Dan to Bauchi and out of Bauchi for the assignment. I can say without fear of any contradiction that Wike bore all expenses for the exercise. It’s therefore shocking that this so-called transactional character called Wike did not place any condition whatsoever for his support.”

After Bala secured the party’s ticket, a new crisis arose, as he lacked the funds to finance his campaign. Furthemore, Dogara recounted how he and two Bauchi senators alongside Senator Bala, flew to Port Harcourt to seek Wike’s assistance once again, when a fundraiser organized for Bala’s governorship bid yielded a disappointing N28 million after expenses, leaving the campaign team in a vulnerable situation.

He revealed that Wike was initially reluctant to help Bala, citing past grievances from their time as ministers under President Goodluck Jonathan. Wike had accused Bala of excluding him from land allocations and humiliating him during a routine approval request.

However, after a heated confrontation, Bala apologized and pleaded for forgiveness, and Wike agreed to help, showing what Dogara described as “unparalleled generosity and forgiveness.””

Acknowledging that the funds that Wike provided as assistance became the lifeline that propelled Bala to victory, Dogara’s narrative takes a dark turn, revealing how Bala repaid Wike’s generosity with betrayal and ingratitude.

“After the emergence of Bala Mohammed as the party flag bearer and having promised to sponsor all the party candidates if he gets the ticket, we were rudely awoken to the reality that Bala Mohammed had no money for his own campaigns let alone for other candidates of the party. Initially, I thought it was some kind of a funny joke, but as time went, I realized to my utter bewilderment that it was true. It turned out Bala Mohammed had lied to us about his financial capacity.

“So we had a meeting at my then residence at Wuse 2, Abuja to help raise money and we thought since Bala Mohammed was one time Minister for nearly 6 years he must have built enough goodwill we could harness if we organised a fundraiser for him. A committee was put in place, and we spent N20 million to organize the fundraiser at the then Lady Kwai Hall, Sheraton Hotels, Abuja.

“Before then, I had asked Bala Mohammed to give me a list of some of the people he had helped while he held sway as Minister for FCT. He obliged me with the list, and after calling just four people on the list that I know so well, what they said to me jolted me, and I reserve that for some other day.

“But suffice to say that I knew the fundraiser would be a flop, so I was already thinking of alternatives. And as predicted, we had the fundraiser and to cut the long story short, all we raised from the fundraiser was a paltry N48 million and if you deduct the N20 million invested in organising it, that leaves you with a net of N28m. I have the records, and our stakeholders are there to bear witness to this.

“When it was obvious the masquerade will soon turn to a human being, I told our then two serving Senators who are alive and can testify that the only option we had was to go to a friend and brother, then Governor Wike for assistance. We got tickets and flew to Port Harcourt with Bala Mohammed without informing Wike that we were coming with him. On arrival, we were ushered into the government house and asked to take our seats and wait for the governor who was still upstairs to join us shortly. As soon as Wike walked down the stairs to join us and saw Bala Mohammed, his visage changed, and I noticed he was cold to me for the very first time. He asked us to join him at the dining room for breakfast but excused me while those on my delegation waited. What happened next was nerve raking and humbling, I must say!

He was like, “Speaker, why did you bring Bala to my house without even caring to find out what our mission was?” I said to him, “I thought he was your friend since both of you served in the same cabinet under President Jonathan.” He said to me, “Let me tell you what you don’t know. When we were ministers, Bala Mohammed allocated plots of land to all ministers except me.”

“He also recalled how he humiliated him when he went to see him in his office as a colleague Minister just to get an approval to increase the number of floors on a building he had in Abuja, not to beg for plot which he refused to allocate to him. He said Bala Mohammed kept him in his waiting room for hours and later sneaked out of the office. That from that day, he made up his mind never to have anything to do with him again.

“He added, I wish, you had told me it’s Bala you were rooting for but whatever you want I will assist you guys because I don’t say no to a brother but I assure you, you will regret your decision if Bala Mohammed becomes Governor. The rest is history.

“He said to me let’s join them at the dining so that I can confront him with these issues for you to know that I am not making things up.” We joined them at the dinning and Wike confronted Bala with these issues in the open and in our very presence. Bala admitted and pleaded for forgiveness, assuring that he is now a changed man. The two Senators with me that day can confirm this to anyone who wants to establish the veracity of these narratives.

“To cut the long story short, we passed the night at the government house, and the next morning, Wike called and directed that his cash assistance be handed over to me to pass to Bala. I said, “Your Excellency, it’s better I call him so that he can collect the assistance himself least he thinks you are still angry with him.” I sent for Bala, and when he came, Wike’s aide handed over the package to him, and he collected it while almost kissing the ground. Wike, therefore, gave us the lifeline we needed to kick start Bala’s campaigns.

“If Bala has forgotten how much we left with that day, I will remind him. Wike didn’t stop there. He gave us a private jet to ferry us back to Abuja. And I must add that was not the only time Wike helped Bala with resources and logistics. What is baffling is that the so-called transactional Wike did not demand anything in return nor place any condition for all that he did. Believe me, this is not the end of the story, but let’s leave it here.

“With all these, my question to Bala is what happens to the golden adage that you don’t attempt to break the calabash from which you once sucked honey?” Dogara said