The land-grabbing allegation against Gov Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, is a result of the latter’s ambition to contest the governorship seat of the state come 2027.
The Chief of Staff, Government House, Bauchi, Dr Aminu Hassan Gamawa, stated this in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER on Thursday.
According to Gamawa, “Tuggar’s attacks on Bala Mohammed are motivated by his ambition to contest the Bauchi governorship in 2027. His strategy of maligning the governor will backfire.
“The people of Bauchi have witnessed Bala Mohammed’s transformative leadership and will not be swayed by the baseless rhetoric of an absentee politician.”
Tuggar had accused Mr Mohammed of large-scale land grabbing fraud and plunging Bauchi residents into poverty despite multi billion naira in federal allocation each month.
Gamawa described Tuggar’s statements as “opportunistic and sycophancy”, and to “serve only to highlight his irrelevance and incompetence”. He urged the minister to “remove the log from his own eye before attempting to point out the speck in Bala Mohammed’s.”
According to the statement, “Tuggar’s undiplomatic and opportunistic outburst further exposes his desperation to curry favour with his new political benefactors.
“His attack on Bala Mohammed is nothing more than an attempt to remain politically relevant by targeting the governor, whose agricultural policies have transformed Bauchi State into a hub of economic activity.
“The governor’s policies have created thousands of jobs across the agricultural value chain, empowering farmers and youth through modern farming techniques and innovative programmes like the Kaura Economic Empowerment Programme (KEEP).”
He said Tuggar lacked the grass-roots touch in Bauchi State, revealing that during the 2023 general elections, “President Bola Tinubu failed to win in Tuggar’s LGA.”
Gamawa also described Tuggar’s era as foreign affairs minister as “being nothing short of disaster”, adding that, “Under his watch, Nigeria’s foreign policy has faltered, and the country’s standing in international relations has diminished.”
Quoting him, “Under Tuggar, ECOWAS is now in disarray. His poor advice to President Tinubu on the crises in the Sahel has led to the withdrawal of key member states. Tuggar has overseen the collapse of Nigeria’s relationships with its Sahelian neighbours, exacerbating insecurity along the 1,600-kilometer border.”
He also alleged that Tuggar dragged Nigeria into the orbit of French hegemony in Africa, abandoning the country’s historically Afrocentric foreign policy, claiming that “This shift has alienated nations fighting against French neocolonial dominance and has positioned Nigeria as a willing accomplice to France’s imperial ambitions.”
On the land-grabbing allegation, Gamawa wrote, “The governor’s Tiamin Rice Project has provided direct and indirect jobs to thousands of Bauchi indigenes.
“Tuggar’s dismissal of such efforts as ‘land grabbing’ is a gross misrepresentation that belies the facts. His comments demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of large-scale agriculture in driving economic development.”
He said Tuggar’s insinuations about increased federal allocations to Bauchi revealed his ignorance of the economic realities faced by states across Nigeria, adding that, “Inflation, the new minimum wage, and the federal government’s poorly executed macroeconomic policies have strained state finances nationwide”.
He added that Bala Mohammed’s prudent use of resources has earned him national accolades, including the ‘Rural Road Infrastructure Governor of the Year 2022’ and the ‘Urban Renewal Governor of the Year 2024’.
Gamawa maintained that Gov Mohammed had distinguished himself in various public offices he held, including director in the federal civil service, a senator, and a former FCT minister, “where his innovative policies, like the Land Swap Programme, saved the government over ₦1.3 trillion while accelerating housing development”.
He added, “President Tinubu’s frequent avoidance of Tuggar during foreign trips speaks volumes about the minister’s redundancy. Tuggar’s inability to address pressing diplomatic issues, coupled with his fixation on attacking Bala Mohammed, highlights his lack of focus and effectiveness.”
Attempts to get further reactions from the minister was unsuccessful.
