Bala Mohammed Using Attack on Tinubu to Kickstart Presidential Campaign — Minister

A minister accuses Governor Bala Mohammed of using his criticism of President Tinubu as a strategy to launch his presidential campaign ahead of the 2027 elections.

Yusuf Tuggar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has alleged that Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed is leveraging his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s tax reforms as a springboard for his 2027 presidential candidacy.

The Minister made this allegation during his appearance on Channel Television’s Sunday Politics program.

He believes that the Bauchi State governor’s criticism of President Tinubu lacks sincerity of purpose.

“Tugar stated on the program that Governor Bala Mohammed clearly lacks sincerity of purpose.”

While other governors did attempt to scrutinize the tax bill when it was introduced, which is beneficial for ensuring that Nigerians receive the best outcomes from it, Bala Mohammed took a different approach by using this opportunity to prematurely kickstart his presidential campaign.

“He was extremely harsh in his criticisms of the president and the administration.”

The Minister stated that Governor Mohammed has been attempting to meet with Tinubu after criticizing the president on the tax reform bills.

While addressing a Christian community in Bauchi on Boxing Day, the governor of Bauchi State urged President Tinubu to reverse the tax policy reforms, warning that they could potentially lead to chaos.

He stated that the policy does not benefit the North in any way, and added that it would prevent governors from being able to pay salaries.

He cautioned that if these policies persisted, the northern region would “reveal its true nature” in response.

However, the Presidency responded to the governor and condemned what it described as a threat to the president. It stated that Mohammed’s opinion does not represent the perspective of the entirety of northern region.

On January 16, Nigerian governors expressed their support for the Federal Government’s tax reform bills. However, they suggested implementing a new distribution formula for value-added tax (VAT).

The decision was made after a meeting between the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Presidential Tax Reform Committee.

In a statement concluding the meeting, the governors’ forum “emphasized its firm backing for thoroughly reforming Nigeria’s outdated tax laws.”