Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has announced the results of the All Progressives Congress presidential primary election in Bauchi State and called on all party members to unite firmly behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.…....
Pate, who served as the state collation officer for the presidential primary, declared Tinubu the winner of the exercise after the President polled 156,541 votes across Bauchi State, comfortably defeating his only challenger, Bauchi businessman Osifo Osayamen Stanley, who secured 2,650 votes. Announcing the results, Pate described the exercise as peaceful, orderly and well coordinated, noting that the massive turnout of APC members across the state was a clear and sustained expression of confidence in the President’s leadership.
He commended party officials, local government coordinators and all stakeholders who contributed to the smooth conduct of the primary, describing the exercise as a demonstration of the internal democratic culture that the APC under President Tinubu has continued to nurture.
The minister’s role as collation officer comes against the backdrop of his own earlier political calculations. Pate had been widely expected to contest the Bauchi governorship seat in 2027, with strong grassroots support groups urging him to join the race. However, he declined, publicly stating that his service was needed at a broader national level. He also did not resign his ministerial position before the March 31, 2026, deadline set by President Tinubu for political appointees seeking elective offices, which effectively removed him from the governorship equation in Bauchi State.
With the presidential primary now concluded in Bauchi, attention is shifting to the state’s governorship contest, where four key contenders, including former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Senator Shehu Umar Buba, former Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, and businessman Nura Manu Soro, are locked in a competitive race for the APC gubernatorial ticket.
