Mustapha, who confirmed his emergence in an interview with journalists said he had accepted the nomination, describing it as a responsibility to serve the people of the state.

“Yes, I have been nominated as the gubernatorial running mate and I have accepted the nomination. It is a call to service and I can’t reject such a call,” he said.

He added that the confidence placed in him by the party and the people would motivate him to contribute positively to the development of Bauchi State.

“The people know our capabilities and decided to trust us with the responsibility of leadership. We will not fail them,” he said.

The former commissioner, who recently left the Allied People’s Movement (APM) after losing out in the party’s governorship ticket race, said the decision to pair with Abubakar was based on the former governor’s experience and knowledge of governance.

According to him, Abubakar’s previous tenure as governor gives him an advantage in returning to lead the state.

“He is not a newcomer to the job. He knows exactly what to do, and it is only fair to allow him come back to complete the good things he started,” Mustapha said.

Mustapha, who served as Director-General of Governor Bala Mohammed’s 2023 re-election campaign, expressed confidence that the APC would defeat its opponents in the 2027 elections.

The APC State Organising Secretary, Sallau Kafi, had earlier confirmed that the party leadership and its governorship candidate had submitted Mustapha’s name and credentials to INEC for the running mate slot.

He said: “She is a loyal party woman, a bridge-builder, and a tireless voice for the vulnerable.”

Governor Kefas further noted that Ibrahim’s administrative and political experience would perfectly complement his administration’s developmental agenda.

Speaking in the same vein, Hajiya Aisha Kaigama, the Taraba State APC Women Leader, commended Governor Kefas for walking the talks in gender balancing in Northeast politics.

“This is a proud moment for women in Taraba.

“Hajiya Zainab has paid her dues; she has worked from the trenches to the national stage, and she will deliver.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) will next month unveil the particulars of all candidates seeking elective offices in the forthcoming general elections.

Lukman alleged that decisions concerning the coalition’s leadership in Kaduna were manipulated to sideline him, saying he had been reduced “to the status of a bastard” within a coalition he had worked to build.He said he had spent more than a year working to reconcile and unite opposition leaders in Kaduna but had instead become the target of what he described as an orchestrated campaign by El-Rufai and his supporters.
“For Mallam Nasir and his people, I am the problem. I have decided to resolve the problem for them and everyone,” he said.

The former APC chieftain said he decided to suspend both his ADC and coalition memberships because it was better “to be inactive than to continue to chase dashed expectations.”

Lukman also questioned the coalition’s commitment to democratic values, accusing some of its leaders of replicating the same political practices they had previously criticised.

He further alleged that former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, was engaging individuals in Kaduna whose commitment to building the ADC was questionable while ignoring those who had invested in strengthening the party’s structures.

According to him, the developments had steadily eroded his confidence in the coalition and reduced the ADC to what he described as “a marginal participant” in preparations for the 2027 general elections.

He, however, expressed appreciation to Senator David Mark and other national leaders of the coalition, saying his decision was not a protest against the party’s national leadership but against what he described as the treatment he received from El-Rufai and some coalition leaders in Kaduna.

-Source: Daily Trust