The Yusuf Maitama Tuggar Campaign Organisation has distanced itself from a group that recently declared support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar (SAN), describing the individuals as unauthorised to speak on behalf of the campaign.
The organisation dismissed reports suggesting that supporters of the former minister of foreign affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, had accepted the outcome of the APC governorship primary and pledged allegiance to the party’s candidate.
The position was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by Tuggar’s Special Assistant on Media, Alkasim Abdulkadir, and made available to journalists in Bauchi.
The campaign organisation described the reports as false and inconsistent with its official position.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports claiming that supporters of Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar have accepted the outcome of the APC governorship primary in Bauchi State and shifted their allegiance. This claim is false and does not represent the position of the Tuggar Campaign Organisation,” the statement said.
It noted that the individuals who addressed journalists had openly admitted that they were not speaking on behalf of Ambassador Tuggar and lacked the authority to make pronouncements in his name.
According to the organisation, the views expressed by the group were entirely personal and should not be interpreted as representing either Ambassador Tuggar or his supporters.
The campaign further reiterated its position that no valid APC governorship primary election was conducted in Bauchi State.
It argued that the process through which the party’s governorship candidate emerged did not amount to a legitimate consensus because it was neither preceded by broad consultations nor based on the voluntary agreement of all aspirants and critical stakeholders.
“It therefore cannot be regarded as a legitimate consensus under the principles of internal party democracy,” the statement added.
The organisation also reaffirmed Ambassador Tuggar’s commitment to the APC, its constitution and the rule of law.
It urged media organisations and the public to distinguish between the opinions of self-appointed groups and the official position of the Tuggar Campaign Organisation.
“Ambassador Tuggar’s support base spans all 20 local government areas of Bauchi State and cannot be represented by a handful of individuals,” the statement stated.
A group led by one of Tuggar’s coordinators, Musa Abdullahi, had on Tuesday, during a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Bauchi, announced its support for the APC governorship candidate.