Foreign Affairs Minister Explains Face-off With Bauchi Gov
By Agency Report
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has opened up on the reported altercation he had with Bauchi State government officials recently.
He debunked reports alleging a clash between him and the Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Auwal Jatau.
Tuggar clarified that the altercation was not with the Deputy Governor but with the Governor, Bala Mohammed, whom he accused of verbally insulting him and threatening to slap him during a recent visit by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, published yesterday, Tuggar said the incident occurred inside a vehicle they shared with the Vice President during his visit to Bauchi, adding that he had endured a frosty relationship with Bala Mohammed, but the latest disagreement with the governor widened their rift.
On April 19, the minister was among dignitaries who accompanied Shettima to Bauchi. The incident was said to have occurred during the turbaning ceremony of former Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, as the Makama Babba I of the Bauchi Emirate.
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Hours later, reports alleged that the Bauchi Deputy Governor, Muhammed Auwal Jatau, slapped Tuggar in a bus conveying dignitaries from Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport to the Emir of Bauchi’s Palace.
The reports claimed the slap occurred after the minister made disparaging comments about the governor. But Tuggar blamed the governor for the incident.
He said Mohammed interrupted a conversation he was having with the Vice President, thereby drawing first blood.
Tuggar added that the governor later insulted his father, who died over 20 years ago, and threatened to slap him.
“I didn’t see how he could beat me or slap me, so I also stood up and tried to stop him,” the minister said.
“After that, his deputy ran from the back of the bus, saying he would also come and slap me, but he couldn’t even get close to me, don’t forget that the Vice President was in that bus and the security guards there are not those of Bauchi.”
Tuggar has been a persistent critic of the Mohammed administration. The minister is reportedly mulling a governorship ambition.
“Whether I have ambitions or not, if you look at my history, you will see that when it is time to speak the truth, I speak out,” Tuggar added.
