Trending 
Seven political appointees of President Bola Tinubu who resigned from their positions to contest governorship elections across Nigeria recorded mixed outcomes in the primaries, with six of them losing their party tickets.
Of the seven appointees, six contested on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while one, Nasiru Gawuna, ran on a different political party.
At the APC governorship primaries, only Ahmed Galadima Aminu of Adamawa State emerged victorious. The remaining five aspirants, all former appointees of the President, were unsuccessful in their bids to secure the party’s ticket.
Those who lost the APC governorship primaries include Yusuf Tuggar, Adebayo Adelabu, Rauf Olaniyan, Saidu Alkali, and Abdulrazak Namdas.
Meanwhile, Nasiru Gawuna, who resigned as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to contest the Kano governorship election under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), also failed to secure the party’s governorship ticket. He has since shifted focus and is now seeking a senatorial seat within the same party.
The outcomes highlight the political risks often associated with high-profile resignations from appointments to pursue elective office, particularly within competitive party primaries.
The following are the appointees who resigned and lost the primaries:
- Yusuf Tuggar – Former presidential appointee who resigned to contest the APC governorship primary but lost the ticket.
- Adebayo Adelabu — Former Tinubu appointee who stepped down to pursue the APC governorship nomination but was unsuccessful.
- Rauf Olaniyan — Resigned from federal appointment to contest the APC governorship primary but did not secure the party’s ticket.
- Saidu Alkali — Left his federal role to seek the APC governorship nomination but lost in the primaries.
- Abdulrazak Namdas — Resigned from appointment to contest the APC governorship primary but was defeated.
- Ahmed Galadima Aminu — Former appointee who contested the APC governorship primary in Adamawa and emerged the only successful candidate among the group.
- Nasiru Gawuna — Former Chairman of the FMBN Governing Board; resigned to contest the Kano governorship under the NDC but lost and later shifted to a senatorial bid.
