By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni on Sunday May 10, 2026, gave an indication that the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the State may be forced into the conduct of direct primaries if aspirants continue to reject the consensus option.
The Source reports that the APC in Yobe State has been embroiled in a unity-threatening disagreement over the selection of its gubernatorial candidate in the last few days.
About six Governorship aspirants including a serving Senator, have vehemently rejected the emergence of Governor Buni-backed Baba Mallam Wali as the APC consensus candidate.
The six aspirants- Senator Ibrahim Bomoi ,former Inspector -General of Police IGP Mohammed Baba , Lawan Kolo , Bashir Machina , Kashim Musa-Tumsah ,and Mustapha Maihaja have all distanced themselves from the efforts of a Stakeholders group that midwifed the adoption of Wali as the consensus candidate.
They have, instead, demanded credible, free and fair direct primaries to settle the issue of who flies the APC gubernatorial flag in the state.
But despite having his efforts being rubbished, Governor Buni has informed that the party is not averse to the conduct of direct primaries if it is the only roadmap for the achievement of peace and stability of the APC in Yobe state.
In a statement on Sunday from Mamman Mohammed, his spokesperson, Governor Buni pledged the readiness and commitment of the party leadership in the State towards ensuring the conduct of free, fair and credible direct primaries.
This was as he emphasized the need for APC members in the state to subscribe to peace and unity, urging them to prioritize the generation of more members for the party ahead of the 2027 polls.
According to the Governor, the party in the state has not foreclosed the possibility of having direct primaries for contestable offices on offer despite the earlier efforts of stakeholders on April 23, 2026 that produced consensus candidates.
He, however, informed that efforts are underway to reach out to aggrieved aspirants with a view to exploring the possibility of arriving at a peaceful settlement of the impasse.
“The emergence of Baba Mallam Wali as the preferred candidate of the party followed the resolutions of the critical stakeholders meeting of 23rd April, 2026.
“He was endorsed and adopted as the preferred candidate, but if there is no general agreement, we shall adopt the election mode.
“This is not new. In 2019, I was nominated as a consensus candidate, a few other aspirants contested the decision and we went for an election where I emerged as the party’s candidate with a very wide margin. We are ready to repeat history if we cannot reach consensus.
“I will be the happiest person to see the State and party peaceful and united. We remain citizens of Yobe state and members of APC.
“My expectation is to see us more united and collectively working for our candidates to win the 2007 general elections .
“As a founding member, former Secretary and National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress APC, the unity and progress of the party means so much to me personally.
“I will continue to support and protect the ideals of the party to remain Nigeria’s ruling political party”, Governor Buni stated.
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