You will be defeated again, Tuggar tells Bauchi APC guber candidate

The former minister of foreign affairs,

Yusuf Maitama Tuggar Foundation, the Foundation financed by Yusuf Tuggar, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said that the one-term governor of Bauchi State has said that Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar, the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) will be defeated in the next year general election.

The Foundation stated this during a press briefing which was held at the Foundation’s Office in Bauchi, rejecting his emergence as the All Progressives Congress Governorship Candidate for the 2027 Governorship eection, calling the declaration “unconstitutional and lacking legitimate basis.”

The Foundation noted that Abubakar lost his re-election bid against the current Governor, Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir in 2019 and failed to rebuild grassroots structures afterward.

Mallam Ningi, who addressed the press on behalf of Yusuf Tuggar Foundation, was flanked by Sule Wada, Sani Shehu, also known as Sanin Malam and former Bauchi State Chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), and other stakeholders of the Foundation.

“We describe the declaration as purported because it was made by Mr. M.A. Abubakar himself, rather than through an official announcement by the appropriate organs of the All Progressives Congress. To date, the party has not publicly and officially confirmed the declaration”, Ningi said.

The Foundation’s objection was contained in a June 2, 2026 appeal letter to APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, claiming that no Governorship primary poll was held in Bauchi State.

“No Governorship primary election was conducted anywhere in Bauchi State,” the letter stated. “Consequently, the declaration of any aspirant as the winner of a primary election that never took place is unfounded, unjustifiable and devoid of any legitimate basis”, the Foundation noted.

The group also faulted what it described as conflicting accounts from Abubakar, whom they said claimed at first that all aspirants endorsed him by and later alleged that a second meeting was held and the party primary poll was conducted in which he won with specific scores.

The Foundation, however, warned that imposing Abubakar as candidate could damage the APC’s prospects in 2027, citing “widespread negative reactions and defections.”

A key point of the appeal centered on power rotation, in which the Foundation argued that Katagum Senatorial District had not produced a governor since the late Governor Abubakar Tatari Ali in 1983, creating “a strong feeling of political marginalisation.”

“In the interest of justice, equity and balanced political representation, we believe that the time has come to give the Division a fair opportunity to produce the next Governor of Bauchi State,” the letter read.

The group presented Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who hails from Katagum, as its preferred candidate, citing his “unwavering commitment” to the progressive movement from the APP and ANPP through the CPC to the APC.