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Governor Mai Buni of Yobe State on Sunday said the All Progressives Congress in the state will hold free, fair and transparent primaries if a consensus candidate fails to emerge.
The Director General, Press and Media to Governor Mamman Mohammed, announced this in a statement released in Damaturu, the state capital.
Six APC gubernatorial aspirants in the state have rejected the endorsement of the party’s key stakeholder candidate, Alhaji Baba Wali, and demanded the holding of a credible direct primary election.
The candidates are Senator Ibrahim Bomoi of Yobe South, Alhaji Bashir Machina, Mr Kashim Musa-Tumsah, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, Alhaji Lawan Kolo, and retired Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Baba.
Buni said his party did not close the direct election mode to produce its candidates ahead of the 2027 election.
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“The emergence of Baba Mallam Wali as the party’s preferred candidate follows the resolution of a meeting of critical stakeholders on April 23, 2026.
“He is supported and appointed as the preferred candidate, but if there is no general agreement, we will use the election method.
“This is nothing new. In 2019, I was nominated as a candidate based on consensus, several other candidates opposed the decision, and we went to the elections, where I emerged as the party’s candidate with a very large margin. We are ready to repeat that history if we cannot reach a consensus,” he said.
However, the governor said his party was still trying to reach out to aggrieved candidates and other stakeholders to reach a peaceful resolution through dialogue.
“I would be the happiest to see this state and party at peace and united; we remain citizens of Yobe State and members of the APC. My hope is to see us more united and working collectively for our candidates to win the 2027 elections.
“As a founding member, former secretary and national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, the unity and progress of the party means a lot to me personally. I will continue to support and protect the ideals of the party to remain the ruling political party in Nigeria,” Buni said.
The governor is optimistic that the aspirations of all candidates for office in this country are driven by the desire to serve the community for a better and better life.
According to him, “Yobe is proud to be a leading example of political transparency, internal democracy and participation. We will continue to uphold these principles to promote political policies without bitterness.”
“I am proud to say that we all took this decision together with important stakeholders to agree and support the party in the state; after all, we are all working for the good of the state.”
Buni assured that his party will provide a sense of belonging to everyone and will continue to support whoever emerges as the APC candidate to win the presidency, governorship and all the National and State Assembly seats in the state.
“I call on all APC members in the state to increase unity and generate more support for the party to remain the ruling political party in Nigeria, Yobe and Nigeria, to hand over the state to the candidacy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term and all other APC candidates,” the governor said.
