APC Member Raises Alarm Over Alleged Plot to Undermine Ali Pate’s 2027 Gubernatorial Bid
By: Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
A staunch member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi, Mal. Haruna Abubakar has observed with dismay that some party members are being cajoled into the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in a clandestine move to deliberately thwart the gubernatorial aspiration of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare ahead of the 2027 polls.
Malam Haruna Abubakar, who is the State Coordinator of the Contract and Mobilization Committee for Professor Ali Pate's governorship aspiration, recalled that such disgruntled APC members had previously perpetrated a similar sinister move against Ali Pate during his 2015 bid for the same seat under the People's Redemption Party (PRP).
Speaking at a contact and mobilization meeting at Soro village in Ganjuwa LGA of the state, the coordinator stated that such party renegades could have their political machinations end in failure. He added that the struggle for the state’s apex seat by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare has reached an unprecedented level, making it difficult for any amount of smear campaigns to reverse it.
Abubakar further recalled that the same disgruntled elements within the party had hindered the electoral process for APC’s 2023 gubernatorial candidate, Air Marshall Sadiq Baba Abubakar, leading to the party's failure to secure the Bauchi apex seat.
Abubakar, who holds the traditional title of Ajiyan Galambi, also revealed that Health Minister Ali Pate, in his bid to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu secures at least 45% of the votes in Bauchi during the 2027 elections, has provided employment to over 300 indigenes, particularly in the health sector.
"These were in addition to Minister Pate's efforts in making Bauchi the only state in the federation with two teaching hospitals, two schools of nursing, a Federal Medical Center, an orthopedic hospital, a Cancer Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, and a National Fistula Surgery Hospital, alongside another patriotic citizen - the Federal University of Agriculture," Ajiya pointed out.
According to him, these institutions—both those established and in the making—will generate more employment opportunities for citizens of the state. This includes those who will be recruited for the ongoing construction of new institutions and comprehensive healthcare centers in each of the 774 LGAs across the state, including Bauchi.
Coordinator Ajiya also noted that some APC governorship aspirants in the state have even switched their support to Ali Pate, acknowledging his adaptability, suitability, and appropriateness for the Bauchi political apex seat in the upcoming 2027 general elections.
He also emphasized that Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the Minister of Health, who abandoned a multi-million dollar foreign job to serve his country and its people, cannot, under any circumstances, be accused of attempting to siphon public funds, as has been the case in many other states of the federation.