Mai Mala Buni has assured aspirants and members of the All Progressives Congress that the party will conduct free, fair and transparent primary elections if consensus candidates do not emerge ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Director-General of Press and Media Affairs, Mamman Mohammed, the governor said the party had not ruled out the option of direct primaries in selecting candidates for elective positions.
The assurance follows opposition from six governorship aspirants in Yobe State who rejected the endorsement of Baba Wali as the preferred candidate of critical party stakeholders.
The aggrieved aspirants include Ibrahim Bomoi, Bashir Machina, Kashim Musa-Tumsah, Mustapha Maihaja, Lawan Kolo and Mohammed Baba.
Buni explained that Wali’s emergence followed resolutions reached at a stakeholders’ meeting held on April 23, 2026, but stressed that the party was prepared to adopt an electoral process if consensus could not be achieved.
“He was endorsed and adopted as the preferred candidate, but if there is no general agreement, we shall adopt the election mode,” Buni said.
The governor recalled that he also emerged through a similar process in 2019 after some aspirants challenged his consensus nomination, leading to a primary election which he won convincingly.
“We are ready to repeat that history if we cannot reach consensus,” he added.
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Buni stated that efforts were ongoing to reconcile aggrieved aspirants and stakeholders through dialogue in order to maintain unity within the party.
“I will be the happiest person to see the state and party peaceful and united,” he said, noting that all members remained committed to the progress of Yobe State and the APC.
The governor further described Yobe as a model of internal democracy and political transparency, pledging that the party would continue to uphold participatory democratic principles.
“As a founding member, former secretary and national chairman of the APC, the unity and progress of the party means so much to me personally,” he stated.
Buni also called on party members to work together to ensure victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all APC candidates in the 2027 elections.