Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, has formally joined the race for the Bauchi State governorship after obtaining the All Progressives Congress (APC) expression of interest and nomination forms on Wednesday.
Tuggar, who spoke to journalists after picking the N50 million forms, listed insecurity and economic revival through agriculture as priority areas for his proposed administration ad.
“Addressing the security challenges and optimizing the agricultural resources of the state will be key in improving the livelihoods in the state of Bauchi,” he said.
“The top priorities will be the challenge of insecurity and the need to properly utilise our farmland. “We have huge land resources in Bauchi, and we must structure them in a way that subsistence farmers and pastoralists can benefit and also lift people out of poverty.”
Fair access to land must be established to prevent economic imbalances. Tuggar cautioned against a system where a few possess resources at the expense of the majority.
The aspirant said on the mode of the party’s primary election that he would go along with either direct primaries or consensus arrangement provided the process is transparent and credible.
“I am fine with whatever option that the party chooses as long as it is fair. The key is to produce candidates who have integrity and real support among the people,” he said.
Tuggar had resigned his ministerial post on March 30, 2026 in compliance with a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that political appointees seeking elective offices should resign their posts.
After his departure, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a ministry she once served as Minister of State.
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