Tinubu Appoints Abbas to Lead Bauchi APC Peace Talks

President Bola Tinubu has appointed House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to chair a reconciliation committee tasked with resolving longstanding internal disputes in the Bauchi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A statement from the Speaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, on Sunday listed members of the panel to include Yobe State Governor Mai Buni; former House Speaker Yakubu Dogara; Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abdullahi Gumel; Senior Special Assistant to the President (Political), Alhaji Ibrahim Masari; and Alhaji Usman Gotomo. The Chief of Staff to the Speaker, Prof. Jake Dan-Azumi, will serve as secretary.

“Already, the Speaker Abbas-led Committee has swung into action, holding its first meeting late July in Abuja, where issues regarding how to face the assignment were thoroughly discussed,” the statement said.

It quoted Abbas as saying President Tinubu had chosen the committee members for their “integrity, track record, and capacity to act fairly and objectively.” He urged them to “Meet the expectations by completing the assignment within one month as mandated, ahead of APC congresses.”

The statement noted that the Bauchi APC crisis dates back to the party’s 2015 primaries. To address it, the committee began a fact-finding process, meeting key stakeholders on July 31 at the Yobe State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro. That meeting was chaired by Governor Buni in Abbas’s absence.

Stakeholders present included former Bauchi governors Mohammed Abubakar, SAN, and Isa Yuguda; Senator Surat Dada; Senator Salisu Matori; and Minister of Health, Mohammed Ali Pate, among others.

The committee is expected to deliver its report in the coming weeks for further presidential action.

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