Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has accused President Bola Tinubu of influencing the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, adding to growing tensions within the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
Tuggar made the allegation following the emergence of former Bauchi State governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar as the APC candidate.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, he said aspirants had expected an open contest but were instead informed that a decision had already been taken by the party leadership.
“We wanted an election where whoever won would emerge and whoever lost would accept the outcome. But the national chairman of our party called us and announced that M.A. Abubakar had been selected as the governorship candidate,” Tuggar said.
He described the development as unfair and claimed members were denied the opportunity to participate in a proper primary.
Another APC chieftain, Hon. Nuru, also criticized the process, alleging that party stakeholders were summoned and informed of a message from President Tinubu regarding who would fly the party’s flag in the state.
According to him, members were presented with a decision rather than allowed to vote.
The dispute has widened existing cracks in the Bauchi APC, with some members openly challenging the process and calling for greater internal democracy.
Former senator Umaru Shehu Buba said he had already left the APC for the Peoples Redemption Party, citing concerns over how the governorship ticket was handled.
He said years of political work in the state had been undermined by what he described as interference from powerful interests.
Buba also claimed there were no election officials present on the day the primary was expected to hold.
The controversy has renewed focus on Abubakar’s time as governor, particularly allegations tied to the release of about ₦8.5 billion from Bauchi State accounts shortly before he left office in 2019.
The transactions later became part of court proceedings after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission sought to freeze one of the state government’s accounts.
Abubakar had maintained at the time that the payments were made for infrastructure contracts and obligations linked to Paris Club refund allocations.
The disagreement over the APC ticket is expected to shape political alignments in Bauchi as preparations gradually begin for the next governorship election.
President Tinubu and the APC national leadership had not publicly responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
