Eagle Square hosted 8,000 delegates in a display of the ruling party's organisational strength, yet internal divisions over succession persist between North and South, and among competing factions. At the Velodrome, the PDP convened 3,000 supporters, but the party's momentum appears weakened by defections and a lack of grassroots confidence, its speeches steeped in past glories. In a defiance of INEC guidelines, nine senators joined the ADC in Abuja, marking a shift in political alignment, though the coalition remains fractured and leaderless. The Labour Party draws youth support online, but its leadership faces allegations of co-option, while the NNPP maintains strong regional control in Kano without national reach. The PRP in the Northeast positions itself as a minor player ready to be absorbed. Office holders were directed to resign by March 31 to contest elections; some complied, others did not. In Bauchi, Muhammad Ali Pate, a technocrat known for health reforms that improved immunization and social welfare, chose to remain in office instead of pursuing a political run, prioritising continuity and loyalty.
Muhammad Ali Pate's decision to stay in government while others scramble for position stands in sharp contrast to the wave of resignations for ambition. His record in health reform, particularly in Bauchi, shows what focused governance can achieve, yet such service is increasingly rare amid the noise of 2027 calculations. While parties fracture and regroup, the real cost is measured in diverted attention from inflation and insecurity. Pate's choice does not fix the system, but it exposes how few are willing to value duty over power.
