Bauchi Guber Ticket: Former Foreign Affairs Minister Tuggar Loses APC Primary

A former Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, has emerged victorious in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election, defeating the immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and five other contestants.

With this victory, Abubakar will serve as the party’s flagbearer in the 2027 gubernatorial election.

In the official results announced after the state-wide exercise, Abubakar secured the ticket with 57,517 votes, while Tuggar finished in second place with 26,001 votes.

The remaining ballots were split among other key contenders, with Bala Wunti scoring 13,648 votes, closely followed by Nura Manu Soro with 13,638 votes, and Kabir Ma’aji with 8,157 votes.

Persecondnews recalls that former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu also lost to Sen. Sarafadeen Alli, who secured a landslide victory, polling an overwhelming 578,143 votes across Oyo state.

Sen. Buhari trailed with 37,265 votes, while Adelabu finished third with 19,193 votes.

Chairman of the APC Governorship and House of Assembly Primary Election Committee in Bauchi State, John Abang, announced the result on Saturday after collation of votes from across the state.

The primary election was successfully conducted 24 hours after the APC National Working Committee had postponed proceedings in Bauchi and Kwara states to allow for strategic consultations aimed at ensuring an orderly exercise.

The result marks a significant political renaissance for former Governor Abubakar, who ran the state under the progressive banner between 2015 and 2019 before a re-election defeat to Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party.

His closest rival, Yusuf Tuggar, had entered the race as a major contender after resigning his portfolio as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive for political appointees to step down before contesting.

Given the heightened political stakes and increasing opposition pressure on the incumbent administration, APC executives have strongly appealed to all former aspirants to rally behind Abubakar to secure victory at the polls.