Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi state, says the removal of Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo state rattled him momentarily as he had feared the same fate would befall him.
Last week, the apex court ordered the replacement of Ihedioha with Hope Uzodinma, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March election.
Speaking with reporters, Mohammed, who is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) like Ihedioha, said his fears were further heightened by the confidence exhibited by his opponents, prior to the delivery of the judgement on the Bauchi governorship election.
“The Imo incident is one of such incidents that is a manifestation of a judicial process. It was a very painful outcome for me as a PDP member and as a friend to the former governor who was affected,” he said.
“It was something unexpected and I knew what happened to him could happen to anybody. Certainly, it gave me some fears for the first time, thinking that maybe, the confidence expressed by my competitors had something to do with some assurances in some quarters somewhere, but I still had faith in God.”
The supreme court had struck out the appeal Mohammed Abubakar of the APC filed against the victory of Mohammed in the election.
Last week, the governor had said some people were plotting to pull him down through the highest court in the land.