The rift between Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State and his deputy, Yakubu Garba, has taken a new turn following rumours that the latter was considering resignation.
Garba’s relocation from his official residence, opposite the Justice Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, has fueled speculation of a rift between the duo.
Insiders told Daily Trust that the discord began shortly after they assumed office in May 2023.
Some sources linked the feud to individuals who allegedly recorded a private conversation between the deputy governor and some government officials about alleged missteps by his principal. The recording was reportedly forwarded to the governor, causing displeasure.
Other sources alleged that power brokers from Niger East Senatorial District, where the deputy governor hails from, have aligned with the governor to weaken Garba’s political strength ahead of 2031, when the governorship is expected to shift to the zone.
Daily Trust gathered that there are plans to replace Garba as deputy governor in 2027.
Sources also alleged that the governor rarely transmits power to the deputy when he is out of the country or asks him to represent him at events.
They noted that the only time the deputy governor acted as governor was in November 2024 when Bago travelled to the United States for his leave. The deputy also represented the governor at the National Executive Council meeting last week.
One source said the latest trigger was a call from the governor to his deputy, warning him to control his supporters.
“The governor called the deputy yesterday and told him he heard that his (deputy’s) people were complaining about the consensus list, and warned him to be careful. That was what triggered the deputy’s move to vacate his official residence,” the source said.
A credible source close to Governor Bago confirmed the deputy governor’s planned resignation.
“It is true he wants to leave. It is also true that he has removed many of his personal belongings from his official residence and office. From what I gathered, the deputy governor is only waiting for the governor to return from Russia before tendering his resignation. But we are trying to convince him to shelve the idea,” the source said.
He added: “The governor and the deputy had a very good relationship before their election. Unfortunately, things deteriorated recently after some people got between them. It’s about mutual suspicion, like we’ve seen in other places.”
During the inauguration of commercial flight operations at Ahmed Bola Tinubu International Airport, Minna, on April 23, 2025, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, advised the deputy governor on the need for patience in his office.
The minister had said: “You know the job of a deputy governor. You need a high dose of patience to do the job of any deputy anywhere in the world. Thank you for that high dose and thank you for the support you are giving to our farmer governor.”
However, when contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bago, Bologi Ibrahim, said he was not aware of any fallout between the governor and his deputy.
“I am not aware of any fallout between the governor and the deputy governor,” he said.
Similarly, the Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Unmulkhatumi Abdullahi Kuta, denied that the deputy governor was planning to resign.
“As I speak with you, His Excellency the Deputy Governor has not resigned and cannot resign. I am in his official residence now and he is also here,” she said.
Deputy gov’s preferred candidate dropped from ‘consensus list’
The release of the controversial APC consensus list for the November 2025 LG elections further worsened the rift, as the deputy governor’s preferred candidate, Babangida Wasa Kudo, was dropped.
Bago had, in March, announced that the APC would adopt consensus primaries for council elections, asking stakeholders to nominate three chairmanship candidates per LGA, from which he would make the final selection.
However, party officials later clarified that the governor reserved the right to choose candidates outside the submitted lists.
This fueled discontent within the party as political parties in the state raced to meet the primary elections’ deadline between March 15 and 24.
In the final consensus list signed by the state chairman Aminu Musa Bobi and Adamu Gani, Isyaku Bawa was selected for Shiroro LGA, not Babangida Wasa Kudo, the deputy governor’s choice.
Bago was accused of handpicking candidates, including some allegedly underperforming incumbents; a claim denied by his Chief Press Secretary.
Party stalwarts from Shiroro LGA accused the governor of disrespecting the deputy governor by rejecting his preferred candidate.
An APC chieftain, Awaisu Giwa Wana, criticised the governor on Prestige FM’s Tsalle Daya programme, saying it was inappropriate to publicly embarrass the deputy governor when other leaders’ choices were respected.
‘Allocation to deputy gov’s office slashed’
Sources told Daily Trust that apart from the consensus candidacy issue, the deputy governor was angered by the alleged slash in the allocation to his office from N50 million to N20 million.
Another source said some activities of the deputy governor’s office were moved to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, who is also the governor’s younger brother.
“The deputy governor was very angry on Sunday night. He had a meeting with his aides from 4 pm until 1 am. He said he would no longer sleep in his official residence and swore nobody would stop him. He ordered all his aides to vacate and sleep in their private residences,” the source said.
“His belongings were immediately moved out. While he was about leaving, the speaker of the State House of Assembly, Barrister Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, the House of Assembly member for Bosso LGA, Hon. Gomna, and some commissioners arrived to plead with him.”
“Chairman of the Medical and Health Workers Union, and an APC stalwart, Awaisu Giwa Wana, who was crying, also begged him to stay. The deputy governor, however, insisted on moving to his personal residence,” the source said.
Party stakeholders in Shiroro LGA are reportedly planning to protest today at the LGA Secretariat to express their grievances over the deputy governor’s treatment.
Like Aliyu and Ibeto, like Bago and Garba?
Daily Trust reports that this is not the first time a governor and deputy have clashed in Niger State.
Former Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and his deputy, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, fell out ahead of the 2015 general elections sequel to the latter’s plan to succeed the former.
At the peak of the crisis, Aliyu allegedly ordered Ibeto out of an executive meeting following his defection to the APC, although the government denied the reports.
Aliyu reportedly wrote to the State Assembly, empowering the speaker, Adamu Usman, to act in his absence during a trip to Saudi Arabia.
Residents of Shiroro LGA protest, warn of consequences
During a protest yesterday against Bago’s decision regarding the deputy governor’s preferred candidate, residents of the Lakpma axis of Shiroro LGA said they voted for Bago despite widespread insecurity, because of Garba, who hails from their area.
Speaking with Daily Trust, the youth leader of Kwaki/Chukuba Ward, Shiroro LGA, Ahmed Sarki Chukuba, said the APC would not enjoy the support of Shiroro residents in 2027 if Bago does not reverse his decision.
“We are demanding that the governor give us the candidate chosen by stakeholders as the consensus candidate.
“The Lakpma axis of Shiroro Local Government has been marginalized for years, especially under the current administration. For instance, in the Kuta zone, there is the deputy governor, the incumbent chairman, and the Commissioner for Transport, who is also from Shiroro and comes from Kuta. Additionally, the member representing the area in the State House of Assembly and the Deputy Chief of Staff to the deputy governor are all from Kuta.
“So, the party at the local government level agreed that the Lakpma zone, which is severely affected by banditry, should produce the LG chairman. The party and stakeholders, including the deputy governor, chose Babangida Wasa Kudodo as the preferred consensus candidate. Unfortunately, the person Bago handpicked is from Kuta, a zone already well represented in government.
“The governor changed the name without consulting anybody. Bago should respect the stakeholders’ decision; he should respect his deputy because both the stakeholders and the deputy governor had agreed on the consensus candidate. Bago should also respect the party’s decision and the zoning arrangement, because he himself benefitted from the zoning system when he was elected.
“The governor must respect the will of the people and the decision of the stakeholders. If he refuses, we will wait for him in the future. By the will of Allah, if he does not honour our choice, whatever happens to the APC in Shiroro LGA will be his responsibility. Despite the security challenges we face in the Lakpma zone, we came out and voted APC in safer areas, not because of Bago, but because of his deputy, who is our elder brother. Today, there is the governor is disrespecting more than the deputy governor,” he said.
Crisis in other LGAs
Daily Trust gathered that the consensus list has also sparked discord between the governor and party supporters in Mokwa LGA.
On Friday, party supporters staged a “warning protest” in Mokwa town, rejecting the selection of the incumbent chairman, Jibril Abdullahi Muregi, as the consensus candidate.
Speaking to Daily Trust, one of the protesters, Mohammed Idris, warned that if the governor refused to honour the stakeholders’ choice, the APC would lose in the November local government elections and beyond.
The supporters said the protest would extend to the ballot if the governor maintained his position.
“If our interest is not respected, we will continue protesting — and beyond that, we will express ourselves at the ballot. We have three zones in Mokwa LGA, and a zoning arrangement that stipulates each zone serves one term before it rotates. It is now the turn of Mokwa/Kinti zone. Since the arrangement began, we have not faced any challenges until now.
“We had been enjoying relative peace, but the governor is now causing a crisis by imposing the incumbent chairman, instead of endorsing Ibrahim Buka from Muwo/Gbajibo Ward in the Mokwa/Kinti zone, who was agreed upon through a signed arrangement.
“If our choice is not respected, we will work against the party in the next election. The APC is failing as a party,” Idris said.
Constitutional amendment needed to define governor–deputy relationship — Rafsanjani
Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mallam Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, noted growing concerns over the lack of clear delegation between governors and their deputies in Nigeria’s democratic structure.
According to him, since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, there has been persistent tension between governors and their deputies, largely due to governors’ reluctance to allow their deputies exercise meaningful roles and responsibilities.
“This issue is not limited to state governments. It also surfaced at the federal level when the offices of senior and junior ministers were introduced. Many ministers of state have complained of being sidelined by their senior counterparts,” Rafsanjani said.
He added that even at the presidential level, there are signs of limited delegation to the vice president.
“For example, when President Bola Tinubu travelled to France recently, several presidential committees were inaugurated in his absence, but the vice president was not asked to perform the duty. Instead, it was the chief of staff who conducted the inaugurations,” he said.
Rafsanjani warned that this pattern of sidelining deputies fuels political instability across the country.
“Many governors do not allow their deputies to perform any function. This has continued to create unnecessary tension and instability in their states,” he said.
He called for a deliberate assignment of specific responsibilities to deputy governors to ensure they are engaged and accountable, stressing that both the governor and deputy were elected on a joint ticket and are expected to deliver jointly on their electoral promises.
“If deputy governors are sidelined, it undermines leadership effectiveness in the state,” Rafsanjani said.
He stressed the need for a constitutional amendment that goes beyond the vague provision that deputies act only in the absence of their principals.
“This general statement is not practiced in reality. As we are witnessing, the lack of clear responsibilities has led to ongoing tension and conflicts between governors and their deputies, and even between the president and vice president,” he said.
Rafsanjani noted that very few governors have allowed their deputies to succeed them, a reflection of deep-rooted mistrust and rivalry.
“This was evident between President Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, and even between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his principal, where expectations of succession were unmet,” he said.
According to Rafsanjani, the failure to build strong, collaborative relationships between principal officeholders and their deputies undermines leadership continuity, mentorship, and the consolidation of democratic governance.
Governor must respect his deputy – Analyst
A Niger State-based political analyst, Yahaya Mohammed Usman, has faulted the governor’s decision regarding the choice of candidate supported by his deputy.
“I do not know the political intrigues, the rationale used, or the basis for the nominations made, but truth be told, if Governor Umar Bago indeed refused to pick the favoured aspirant of his deputy, Yakubu Garba, as chairmanship candidate for Shiroro LGA, then it is unfair.
“The deputy should be accorded that privilege as the number two citizen of the state, a major party stakeholder, and a leader in his own right. Governor Bago stands on two legs — his own and his deputy’s — in the eyes of the law before elections.
“Chapter 6, Part 2, Section 187 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) states: ‘In any election to which the foregoing provisions of this part of this chapter relate, a candidate for the office of governor of a state shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of Governor, who is to occupy the office of Deputy Governor; and that candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected to the office of Deputy Governor if the candidate who nominated him is duly elected as Governor in accordance with the said provisions.’
“This provision shows that if the deputy’s nomination had been found faulty, both of them would have suffered the same fate — remember the Bayelsa case of governor-elect David Lyon, who lost his seat because his deputy submitted forged documents. In essence, the Constitution not only legalises the nomination but establishes that the deputy governor is equally elected.
“It is only fair, therefore, that the deputy governor should be allowed the privilege of nominating his choice for his local government, if not the entire zone.
“On the flip side, I also blame APC stakeholders, including the deputy governor. When the governor first announced the consensus arrangement, they kept quiet. When he asked for three names to be submitted, they also kept quiet. Now that he has allegedly done what he wants, who should they blame?” Usman said.
Another political analyst, Saidu Aliyu, called for restraint to allow citizens to get the services they expected from the government. (Daily Trust)
