A former Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, has emerged the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi State.

Abubakar served as chief of air staff from 2015 to January 2021 when President Muhammadu Buhari replaced him and other service chiefs.
The President later appointed him as Nigeria’s ambassador to Chad. He has resigned from that appointment.
Abubakar polled 370 votes to clinch the party’s ticket in Bauchi.
Halliru Jika, senator representing Bauchi central, polled 278 votes to place second.
Nura Manu got 269 votes, Musa Babayo had 70 votes; and Mahmud Maijama’a secured eight votes.
Similarly, Umar Mohammed Bago, House of Representatives member, has won the APC governorship ticket in Niger State.
Bago currently represents Chachanga federal constituency in the house of representatives.
The lawmaker won the governorship ticket after polling 540 votes.
Idris Malagi and Sani Ndanusa polled 386 and 84, respectively, to place second and third in the exercise.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state was Thursday evening reelected as the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023 General elections.

The governor was the sole aspirant in the exercise that took place inside the Banquet Hall of the government house, ilorin where 965 delegates were expected to vote for him.

At the end of the exercise, Chairman Governorship/ House of assembly primaries sent by the National leadership of the party from Abuja ,Prof Emmanuel Dandaura who led the team that supervised the election said that there were 961 valid votes, and 4 invalid votes.

Professor Dandaura asked whether there was complaint from anyone to which there was no response. He therefore declared the governor as the gubernatorial candidate of the party for the 2023 governorship elections.

Governor AbdulRazaq in his acceptance speech assured that he would not take the support of the delegates and other stakeholders in the ruling party for granted.

He noted that,”2023 is the year to make it clear to the doubting Thomases that the revolution of 2019 was not a fluke”, stressing that “It is the year to reaffirm our decision to reclaim our dignity and have a state that serves everyone equitably.

“We must therefore keep what is left of our patrimony, and by all democratic means avoid a relapse to the years of the distress, Governor AbdulRazaq said.

He also said that, “between 2019 and now, the trajectory of Kwara State has changed. We have registered a bold presence in the comity of decent and respected states. We have positive strides and indices in education, health, access to water, improved youths engagement, gender mainstreaming, support for farmers and the vulnerable, and rural development to show for our mandate.”

Today, he said, that ” no part of Kwara State is left without government presence. Our politics has also evolved. The destiny of Kwarans is no longer tied to any particular person. That is the bold message from our primaries.”

Governor AbdulRazaq however said he’s not perfect, saying, “Are we perfect? No, we are not. What is not debatable is the magnitude of progress that Kwara has made over the last three years. We can only beat our own records of achievements.”

He also said, “So, we will campaign on our records of improving the lots of our people and reasserting the leadership position of Kwara State.

“We will campaign on our record of courageously opening up the democratic space for all. We will campaign on our records of courageously opening up our books for public assessments in our strong belief that perfection belongs to God alone. In doing so, we are steadily improving the old system and achieving more efficiency.”

Ahead of the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress, indications have emerged that a former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; and national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, may spearhead regional parties pending the outcome of the primaries that would take place this weekend.

Meanwhile, Peter Obi has been discussing with the NNPP but has not joined the party, The PUNCH learnt on Wednesday night.

READ ALSO:

• JAMB withholds 69 UTME results, screens 27,105 again
• Primaries: Three PDP delegates killed by gunmen in Niger
• Presidential Race: Osinbajo’s Campaign Trips’ Funding Raises Dust

A source close to Kwankwaso, who was reacting to speculations that Obi had joined the NNPP after leaving the PDP, said, “It is not official, but that rumour is going on. I’m not sure if he (Obi) has reached out to us. You know his resignation was just today (Wednesday). But I know they have been discussing it with Kwankwaso even before now.

“What might happen is that the politics of 2023 might turn to regional politics. The NNPP is already strong in the North. There is a possibility that Ike Ekweremadu, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Peter Obi might form an alliance under another party in the South East.

“If Asiwaju Bola Tinubu doesn’t get the APC ticket, he might also go back to South-West with the Social Democratic Party. So, these three parties might become the big parties representing the regions in 2023.”