….The Ali Pate’s connection ….Top Bauchi stakeholders leave party in droves ……Party stalwarts bemoans Abubakar’s emergence, says he is unpopular and unelectable Secrets Reporters The All Progressives Congress (APC), Bauchi Governorship Primary election may have come and gone, but its echoes linger still as the fate of APC as a party in the state looks bleak, with the majority of Bauchi citizens and political analysts positing that come 2027, the APC may lose the state at the Governorship election and even at other elections. It is no longer news that former governor Mohammed Abubakar was declared the winner of the APC Governorship election in Bauchi, but what is news is the process that led to his eventual emergence, a process that some of the aspirants bemoaned as not really a process, even as some also hinted that all of it was shrouded in secrecy, while some called it an aberration. Events leading to the primary election The moment the All Progressives Congress, APC, began selling nomination and expression of interest forms to aspirants for different elective positions of those who want to fly the party’s flag in the 2027 general election, eight candidates emerged as aspirants for the party’s Bauchi governorship primary election. They include former governor Mohammed Abubakar, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the former minister of foreign affairs, Nura Manu Soro. Others are Bala Maijama’a A. Wunti, Kabir Baba Ma’aji, Baba Abubakar Suleiman, Yakubu Yakubu Abdullahi, and Senator Shehu Buba. After the purchase of forms by these governorship aspirants, all were screened and successfully passed their screenings; the intense horse trading for the primary election began. Political analysts who spoke to SecretsReporters said that soon after the screening of the aspirants and their subsequent clearing to contest, noise, or call it speculations and rumours began to fly of how political leaders in the party were working towards a particular candidate to emerge as the party’s flag bearer. “What started like mere rumours and speculations turned out to be true, because the electorates and other political actors started hearing news that some political actors and leaders in the state, were planning to make former governor Abubakar Mohammed the APC candidate for the 2027 gubernatorial election,” he said. Speaking further he said; “It then became clear that yes, it is no longer a rumour but a fact that the political leaders in the state, chief among them the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and former Governor Isa Yuguda were all in the forefront to make sure that Mohammed Abubakar emerges as the party’s flagbearer against the wishes of the APC leadership, APC electorates in the state, even when we reminded them of the 2019 elections, where internal party friction led to the APC losing the state to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), they threw our advice to the wind.” Corroborating what the political analysts said, days before the primary election, a former Bauchi State governorship aspirant, Captain Bala Jibrin, strongly warned party leaders in the state against the alleged plan to impose former Governor Barrister Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar as the party’s candidate in the forthcoming primary elections. Jibrin gave the warning during a press conference held in Bauchi. He specifically called out on former Governor Isa Yuguda and the current Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate out, asking them to protect their integrity and listen to the wishes of the electorate. He also reminded Prof. Pate of the events surrounding the 2019 elections, when internal party disputes allegedly contributed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) losing the state to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Jibrin raised serious concerns about accountability during Abubakar’s administration between 2015 and 2019, questioning the former governor’s motive for seeking a return to Government House. Findings by this medium indicate reasons adduced or conceived by Pate include the fact that MA has only one tenure to complete if he emerges as Bauchi Governor in 2027, and the coast will be clear for him in 2031 as he would have solidified his grip on Bauchi APC using Abubakar’s emergence now, there is the also the case of between him (Pate) and Tuggar the supremacy battle of who holds the grip in the Bauchi APC primary, who controls it and all the rest of that. More so, the issue of the objection to his being made the Minister allegedly by Tuggar and his group in 2023, with Tuggar’s circle adducing that Pate has never been a party’s man, an action Pate believed that if Tuggar had emerged as the APC candidate and eventually became governor, his political career may be dead. With all these and others, this medium learnt that there begin a pressure from the likes of Pate and Yuguda and others opting for a consensus candidate, a move aspirants like Tuggar, Shehu Buba, Manu Soro all rejected vehemently and opting for direct primary election. Days before the Primary election, intense horse trading and political machinations were on the rise to the extent that one of the eight aspirants, Senator Shehu Buba withdrew from and declared that he is no longer interested in running for the party primaries in the APC. In a statement issued by Comrade Sabo Muhammad, his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, the Senator said he took this step to show his disagreement with the state party affairs, especially what he called violation of the Nigerian 1999 constitution, the 2026 elections, APC constitution 2022, and party principles. He said; “It will be recalled that before 19th April, 2026 which was the day Senator Shehu Buba Umar declared his acceptance of the clamour and calls from the teeming and dependable People of Bauchi State including but not limited to his constituents, as it relates to the aspiration to the office of the Governor of Bauchi State, the party has been enmeshed in serious crisis of leadership in respect of key offices in the State executive committee such as State Secretary and Organising Secretary. “To our utmost chagrin, however, a complete opposite […]
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