The political gamble by some former ministers of President Bola Tinubu has ended in defeat and uncertainty after several of them failed to secure APC tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Five former members of Tinubu’s cabinet left their positions to contest elective offices after the President directed political appointees with political ambitions to resign.
They include Adebayo Adelabu, former Minister of Power, who pursued the Oyo State governorship ticket; Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali, former Minister of Transportation, who sought the Gombe State governorship ticket; and Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, who joined the Bauchi State governorship race.
Others are Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who sought a return to the National Assembly from Abia State, and Yusuf Tanko Sununu, former Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, who initially pursued a senatorial bid in Kebbi State.
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President Tinubu had directed ministers, ministers of state, advisers, heads of agencies and other political appointees seeking elective offices in 2027 to resign on or before March 31, 2026.
However, the outcome of the primaries brought disappointment for many of them. While Onyejeocha and Sununu secured tickets, Adelabu, Tuggar and Alkali suffered major political setbacks. Sununu, however, failed to secure the Senate ticket before later obtaining the House of Representatives ticket.
In Oyo State, Adelabu lost the All Progressives Congress governorship ticket to Senator Sarafadeen Alli, who represents Oyo South. Alli emerged winner of the primary after polling 578,143 votes, while Adelabu scored 19,193 votes.
Adelabu later raised concerns over the conduct of the exercise. Speaking after voting at his ward, the former minister alleged that there were irregularities in some wards.
“I must sound this note of warning that it is not this way in a lot of other wards. Reports reaching me state that there are a lot of gross misconducts in the other wards, ranging from various forms of infractions. In some wards, they conducted the election hours before the appointed time and wrote the figures they liked,” he said.
In Bauchi State, Tuggar also failed to secure the APC governorship ticket. He lost to former governor Mohammed Abubakar, who defeated him and other aspirants to clinch the party’s ticket.
Before the primary, some supporters of Tuggar had threatened to leave the APC if the party imposed a governorship candidate. The Director of Media of the Tuggar Foundation, Ibrahim Malam, said members of the movement would not remain in a party where internal democracy was allegedly being undermined.
According to him, the position was that of the movement and not necessarily that of Tuggar himself.
“We cannot support a party where democracy is not being practised,” he said.
In Gombe State, former Transportation Minister Sa’idu Alkali also failed to secure the APC governorship ticket. He lost to Jamilu Gwamna, who was backed by Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
Gwamna emerged winner of the primary after polling 247,161 votes. Alkali scored 11,612 votes, while former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, secured 12,120 votes.
Alkali had earlier boycotted the primary over alleged irregularities, claiming that the process lacked fairness, inclusiveness and credibility.
For Sununu, the political journey took a different turn. After initially pursuing a senatorial ambition in Kebbi State, he later settled for the House of Representatives ticket for Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency following opposition to his Senate bid by some party leaders in the state.
He eventually secured the House of Representatives ticket.
Onyejeocha also emerged as one of the few former cabinet members who survived the political test after securing her ticket to contest for a seat in the National Assembly from Abia State.
The outcome has raised fresh questions about the political strength of former federal appointees after leaving office. For some of Tinubu’s ex-ministers, the gamble to quit cabinet for elective politics has produced little reward, leaving their political future uncertain ahead of the 2027 general elections.
