Kebbi 2027 running mate controversy deepens as Governor Nasir Idris picks Ibrahim Augie over Umar Tafida amid conflicting accounts over the decision
Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has replaced his deputy, Umar Abubakar-Tafida, with former Commissioner for Finance Ibrahim Muhammad Augie as his running mate for the 2027 governorship election, exposing fresh tensions within the All Progressives Congress in Kebbi.
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The decision was announced on Sunday, September 3, 2026, at the Presidential Lodge in Birnin Kebbi by APC National Organising Secretary Suleiman Muhammad Argungu during a visit by stakeholders from the Argungu Emirate.
Argungu said the decision followed professional legal advice concerning Tafida’s eligibility to remain on the governor’s ticket for the 2027 election.
According to Argungu, the party considered legal issues arising from the 2023 governorship election before settling on Augie as Idris’ new running mate.
Argungu also said Tafida understood and consented to the arrangement, insisting that there was no disagreement between the governor and his deputy.
That account, however, was disputed by Tafida’s aide, Yahaya Danjadda, the Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on New Media.
Danjadda said Tafida was not consulted before Augie was presented as the new running mate and described the suggestion that the deputy governor had agreed to the decision as an attempt to tarnish his reputation.
The disagreement has since shifted attention from the new ticket to the circumstances surrounding Tafida’s replacement.
The legal issue behind the change
The controversy can be traced to the legal battle that followed the 2023 governorship election, when the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Aminu Bande, challenged the APC’s victory.
One of the issues raised during the litigation was an allegation that Tafida had submitted a forged secondary school testimonial.
The Court of Appeal rejected the allegation in November 2023 and upheld Idris’ election. The matter subsequently reached the Supreme Court, which affirmed Idris’ victory on January 19, 2024.
Argungu cited professional legal advice relating to that litigation as the basis for the latest decision. However, the APC has not publicly identified the specific legal finding that would prevent Tafida from remaining on the 2027 ticket.
Tafida has now rejected the explanation.
Speaking in Argungu on Wednesday, September 3, 2026, when supporters, political associates and well-wishers visited him following the announcement, the deputy governor said the attempt to connect his replacement to the concluded election dispute was intended to damage his political reputation.
Tafida said he accepted the political decision but strongly objected to the explanation being offered for it.
“But to capitalise on the technicality presented to the Election Tribunal by the opposition party and later ruled upon by the Supreme Court, and now say that I should be replaced, was totally unbecoming and bogus,” he said.
His response has added a striking twist to the dispute. While Tafida has not rejected the governor’s right to choose another running mate, he has challenged the narrative surrounding why the change was necessary.
Tafida said he would continue to explain his side of the development and urged his supporters to remain calm.
He also said he had no objection to the new arrangement if the objective was to strengthen the APC and improve the party’s chances in the 2027 election.
“Political positions are temporary,” the deputy governor told his supporters, urging them not to allow the development to create unnecessary tension.
The emergence of Augie therefore represents a significant political adjustment for the governor as the APC begins positioning itself for the next governorship contest.
For now, however, the central question remains unresolved: if the Supreme Court settled the electoral dispute in 2024, what specific legal concern has now made Tafida unsuitable for the 2027 ticket?
Until the APC provides a clearer explanation, the conflicting accounts from the party leadership and Tafida’s camp are likely to keep the issue alive within Kebbi’s political circles.
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The development does not amount to Tafida’s removal as Deputy Governor of Kebbi State. He remains in office. The immediate change concerns only the APC’s 2027 governorship ticket and his replacement as Idris’ running mate.
