Yobe First Movement, an All Progressives Congress (APC) pressure group, has purchased the party’s nomination and expression of interest forms to Barrister Kashim Musa Tumsah, to contest for the governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 elections in the state.
The development came amid attempt by certain powerful element in the state to force a consensus arrangement on the party in the state.
While presenting the nomination forms to the aspirant in Abuja, the group led by Comrade Ibrahim Lawan, said they have been calling on the aspirant to join the race for a long time to contest but has been reluctant.
“We are very happy that he has finally agreed with us to join the race. We believe that his entrance into the race will bring good fortunes for Yobe state,” he said.
For her, Hajiya Fati Godowoli, leader of Haske Forum Yobe, said: “We have got the expression of interest and nomination forms and we are here to present the form to him.
“Finally, we are very grateful to God Almighty and we continue to pray that God will deliver and grant him success and God willing, he will be our governor in 2027. We are much grateful and we pray for God to be with us and guide him. Your Excellency, our women were not here because it was an impromptu journey. And we hope they are going to be with us in the future.”
Responding, Tumsah, a retired diplomat and prominent indigene of Yobe state, expressed delight with the offer and accepted the challenge.
Tumsah believes he has experience, knowledge and capacity to move Yobe state forward and transform the North-East state.
When asked why he joined the race despite consensus arrangement in Yobe state, the governorship aspirant said consensus has to be an agreement amongst aspirants,”not just by a few individuals who were not even in the race.”
According to the diplomat and lawyer, “it is important that even if we are chosen consensus, a popular aspirant should be brought forward so we don’t lose our chances as a political party.”
Reminded that the likes of former Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and others are in the race, Tumsah said: “Political titles can’t make anyone a better candidate, it is what you have done for your people and anticidents even while you held prior political office that matters.”
“By virtue of the electoral act, when you talk about consensus, you’re talking about consensus amongst the aspirants. And you cannot be an aspirant unless you purchase the nomination forms. That’s what qualifies you as an aspirant, to go for any talk about consensus. And then another thing is, if the party agrees that there is going to be consensus, all the people that have indicated interest in the race have to be involved.
“Consensus doesn’t mean one or two people will now sit in the room and then select whoever they want as the candidate for Yobe. That is not consensus. So that is why I feel up to now, we have not fully adhered to the requirements for consensus. And that is why I think the Yobe Haske movement and Haske Forum decided to purchase the form for me, because the time frame for purchasing the form is very short. And if we don’t get it, it’s going to be very difficult.
“And don’t forget that when the current president, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, contested for the presidency in 2003, 2002-2003, we all heard that he was not the candidate for the party, and the party brought out their consensus candidate, isn’t it? And then we heard that the presidency was not in support of him, and they had a chosen candidate but at the end of the day, he decided to contest for the primaries, and God gave him the rights to contest for the presidency. And today he is the president, by the grace of God.
“So, I mean, we hope that the same scenario will play out in Yobe because it is always important, even if you’re choosing consensus, for you to choose the most popular candidate to represent your party. Otherwise, if you bring an unpopular candidate, it’s going to be detrimental to the party. And I don’t want to see such detriment happening to the APC in my state, Yobe. I don’t want us to have the same result that we had in 2023. As you know, the PDP won in Yobe, that is the presidential election. And if we don’t take time, and if we are not carefully managing this consensus arrangement, the same scenario will play out. And we don’t want that to happen.”
When asked about his electoral chances considering heavyweights in the race, the former diplomat said:” Political title does not make you the best candidate. I know my antecedents, and if you go through my antecedents, you will know that I’ve held several sensitive and technical positions that qualify me to be the best candidate for Yobe, especially at this point in time, you know, because most of the people you mentioned came in through politics, but I came in through hard professional work, and that is why I’m where I am.
“So I don’t think because somebody was former senate president, or SSG, or senator, that qualifies him automatically to be the best candidate. No, the title does not make you the best candidate. What have you got for Yobe? And what have you done for Yobe when you were all these things?” he asked.
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