Political tensions are emerging within the Kebbi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after Governor Nasir Idris replaced his deputy, Umar Abubakar-Tafida, with former Commissioner for Finance Ibrahim Muhammad Augie as his running mate for the 2027 governorship election.
The announcement was made on Sunday at the Presidential Lodge in Birnin Kebbi by APC National Organising Secretary Suleiman Muhammad Argungu during a meeting with stakeholders from the Argungu Emirate.
Argungu said the decision followed legal advice on Tafida’s eligibility to remain on the 2027 ticket. He said the party had reviewed legal issues arising from the 2023 governorship election before settling on Augie, adding that Tafida understood and consented to the decision.
That account was disputed by Yahaya Danjadda, Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on New Media. Danjadda said Tafida had not been consulted before the announcement and described claims to the contrary as an attempt to damage his principal’s reputation.
The controversy is linked to litigation over the 2023 governorship election, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Aminu Bande, challenged the APC’s victory. One issue in the case concerned an allegation that Tafida submitted a forged secondary school testimonial.
The Court of Appeal rejected the allegation in November 2023 and upheld Idris’ election. The Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the governor’s victory on January 19, 2024.
However, the APC has not publicly identified the specific legal finding that would make Tafida ineligible to contest as Idris’ running mate in 2027.
Tafida later rejected suggestions that the Supreme Court judgment was responsible for his removal from the ticket. Speaking in Argungu on Wednesday, he said linking the decision to the court case was an attempt to damage his political reputation.
“But to capitalise on the technicality presented to the Election Tribunal by the opposition party and later ruled upon by the Supreme Court, and now say that I should be replaced, was totally unbecoming and bogus,” Tafida said.
Despite his objections to the explanation, Tafida said he accepted the political decision and would support any move intended to strengthen the APC ahead of the 2027 election. He also urged his supporters to remain calm, stressing that political positions were temporary.
Tafida remains Kebbi’s deputy governor. His replacement concerns only the APC’s 2027 governorship ticket, with Augie now designated as Idris’ running mate.
