Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, has officially joined the race for the Bauchi State governorship after obtaining the All Progressives Congress (APC) expression of interest and nomination forms on Wednesday.
Tuggar spoke to journalists after collecting the N50 million forms, where he outlined the priority areas for his proposed administration including insecurity and economic revival through agriculture ad.
He said that addressing the security concerns and making better use of the state’s agricultural resources would be critical to improving livelihoods across Bauchi.
“The top priorities will be the challenge of insecurity and the need to properly utilise our farmland. “We have vast land resources in Bauchi, and we must structure them in a way that subsistence farmers and pastoralists can benefit while also lifting people out of poverty,” he said.
Fair access to land must be established to prevent economic imbalances. Tuggar warned against a system where few have 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’m fine with whatever option the party decides on, as long as it’s fair. “The key is to produce honest candidates who have support among the people,’ he said.
On March 30, 2026, Tuggar resigned his ministerial position in compliance with a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which required political appointees seeking elective offices to relinquish their posts.
After his departure, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was named to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she had previously served as Minister of State.
