BAUCHI, Nigeria — Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has lost the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket for the 2027 election in Bauchi State after suffering defeat in the party’s primaries.
The former minister, who resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet on March 30 to pursue his governorship ambition, was defeated by former Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abubakar during the APC governorship primary conducted on Friday night and announced early Saturday.
The APC Governorship and House of Assembly Primaries Committee, chaired by retired Assistant Inspector General of Police John Abang, declared Abubakar winner of the contest after polling 57,517 votes.
Tuggar secured 26,001 votes to finish second in the race, while Nura Manu Soro garnered 13,638 votes.
Other aspirants who participated in the primary included Bala Maijama’a A. Wunti, who scored 13,648 votes, Kabir Baba Ma’aji with 8,157 votes, Baba Abubakar Suleiman with 7,688 votes, and Yakubu Yakubu Abdullahi, who polled 7,181 votes.
Okay News reports that Tuggar stepped down as foreign minister earlier this year to focus on his gubernatorial ambition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The outcome marks a major political setback for the former minister, while returning former governor Mohammed Abubakar now emerges as the APC’s standard-bearer for the Bauchi governorship race.
