Why I nearly fought Bauchi governor during vice president’s visit

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has corrected a report that Bauchi Deputy Governor Auwal Jatau tried to slap him during Vice President Kashim Shettima’s visit to Bauchi State last month.

Mr Tuggar said it was Governor Bala Mohammed, not his deputy, who threatened to slap him.

Mr Shettima was in Bauchi State on 19 April for the turbaning of former Bauchi Governor, Muhammad Abubakar, as Makama Babba 1 of Bauchi Emirate, and the wedding Fatiha of the former governor’s daughter, Khadija Muhammad. Mr Tuggar, who is from the state, was in Mr Shettima’s entourage.

On Thursday, Mr Tuggar told BBC Hausa Service that he and the governor had an argument while riding on a bus with the vice president to the event’s venue.

He said, contrary to the earlier report that the fight was with the state’s deputy governor, it was with Governor Muhammed, whom he said abused his father.

“While we were onboard moving to the venue of the event, the Vice President talked to me, but Governor Muhammed, who sat behind him, interjected in the discussion that didn’t concern him.

“Subsequently, he abused my father, who died over 20 years ago, and rose to his feet, saying that he would slap me. I can’t imagine how that could happen, even if we were allowed to fight. I also rose to my feet and showed him how tall I am.

“After that, the deputy governor, who was sitting somewhere at the back of the bus, ran towards us, saying that he would slap me, but he was prevented from coming close to me. Remember that the Vice President was onboard, and the security personnel on board were from Abuja, not Bauchi.

“We didn’t even touch each other with the governor, but the governor said he would slap me. But the governor himself saw that the man he was trying to slap is taller than him, and that was how the issue died. But the governor’s son, who has been meddling in Bauchi politics, was also on board, and was the one who posted on social media that the deputy governor slapped me.

“The deputy governor later saw the impact of the slapping allegation and denied the report”, the minister said.

Mr Tuggar said his grievances with Governor Muhammed related to the state government’s policies regarding alleged land grabbing in the state.

He alleged that the state government was seizing rural farmlands, including cattle and grazing reserves, and donating them to investors, a policy he said had never improved the state’s agricultural sector.

Mr Tuggar said the state government’s policy on land was pushing locals into armed banditry.

The governor’s spokesperson, Muktar Gidado, could not be immediately reached to comment on Mr Tuggar’s remarks. His phone number didn’t connect on Thursday morning.

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Mr Tuggar and his colleague at the health ministry, Ali Pate, and Shehu Buba, the senator representing Bauchi South District, are considered the top contenders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to succeed Governor Mohammed, whose second term ends in 2027.

Mr Muhammed, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is believed to be rooting for his deputy, Mr Jatau, to succeed him.

Messrs Tuggar and Jatau are from the Bauchi North District. The district has not produced a Governor in the state since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999.