BAUCHI, NIGERIA – The political landscape of Bauchi State experienced a major shift early Saturday morning, May 23, 2026, as the immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, lost his bid to secure the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket for the highly anticipated 2027 general elections.
Tuggar was among the high-profile federal cabinet members who had complied early with President Bola Tinubu’s strict administrative directive. The presidency had mandated that all appointed ministers and cabinet members harboring ambitions for elective offices in the 2027 cycle must officially resign their positions before the March 31 deadline to preserve the integrity of public service. Despite his early exit from the federal executive council to focus on his grassroots campaign, Tuggar's gubernatorial aspirations suffered a significant setback at the polls.
The official primary election results were announced on Saturday morning following a tense, prolonged delay that kept party faithful and political analysts on edge. The final declaration was made by the Chairman of the APC Governorship and House of Assembly Primaries Committee for Bauchi State, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) John Abang (rtd), at the party's collation headquarters.
According to the official declaration of votes, a former Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, emerged as the winner of the primary election after convincingly defeating six other formidable aspirants in a hotly contested direct primary exercise.
Abubakar demonstrated strong structural dominance across the state’s voting blocks, polling a total of 57,517 votes to secure the party's ticket and seal his return to the center stage of Bauchi politics. Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar finished in a distant second place, securing 26,001 votes from the accredited party delegates. The third position went to Nura Manu Soro, who managed to score 13,638 votes.
The primary committee released the full results of the other contenders who participated in the high-stakes shadow election, revealing a highly fragmented field of votes among the remaining opposition blocs:
* Bala Maijama’a A. Wunti: 13,648 votes
* Kabir Baba Ma’aji: 8,157 votes
* Baba Abubakar Suleiman: 7,688 votes
* Yakubu Yakubu Abdullahi: 7,181 votes
The emergence of Mohammed Abubakar as the APC's standard-bearer sets up a compelling historical narrative in Bauchi State. Political observers have quickly recalled that the incumbent Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, previously defeated this exact same APC candidate during the fierce 2019 gubernatorial election. At that time, Bala Mohammed ran under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to unseat Abubakar, who was then the sitting governor looking for a second term.
With Abubakar successfully reclaiming the APC machinery for the 2027 cycle, the state is bracing for a high-intensity political rematch. While Tuggar’s camp has yet to release an official statement regarding the outcome, the APC leadership under AIG Abang (rtd) has urged all unsuccessful aspirants to close ranks, set aside internal friction, and work collectively toward returning the party to the government house.
