“It Is Amusing To See Badaru Leading Tinubu’s Re-election Campaign”….. Hon. Dantiye

*He is a double face in the party

By Abubakar Hassan

Former Member of the House of Representatives for Babura/Garki Federal Constituency, Hon. Nasiru Garba Dantiye, has said it is amusing to see a former Governor of Jigawa State and former Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, spearheading the Arewa4Asiwaju campaign for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Dantiye said it was ironic that Badaru, who served as Jigawa State governor from 2015 to 2023 and later as Minister of Defence, is now leading a campaign to sell the Tinubu administration to Northerners, despite what he described as Badaru’s double face in the party.

He made the revelation during an interview with the popular online medium, DanUwa Rano, which was monitored by HOTPEN Magazine.

According to him, how can the former minister honestly campaign for the APC-led Federal Government when many of his political loyalists are in the opposition in Jigawa State, including the former Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly and others?

Hon. Dantiye further questioned how Badaru could lead a campaign to sell the Tinubu administration when most of his political allies in Jigawa State are now in the PDP and ADC.

Dantiye said he burst out laughing when he heard Badaru’s remarks on the radio, in which the former minister expressed confidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would secure massive votes from Northern Nigeria in 2027, and that no amount of aspersion cast against him would truncate his second-term bid.

“If the ruling party is serious, how can it appoint him to lead the campaign?” he queried.

Dantiye also pointed to Badaru’s removal as Minister of Defence, saying it clearly shows that all was not well between him and the Presidency.

He noted that Badaru was appointed Minister of Defence in August 2023 but was later dropped from the Federal Executive Council during a cabinet reshuffle, a development he said exposed the cracks in his relationship with the Tinubu administration.

Dantiye said he has nothing personal against Badaru. “On a personal ground, I have nothing against Badaru. By age, he is my junior brother, and we are from the same local government area in Jigawa State. But Islam enjoins us to tell the truth, even if it is against our parents,” he said.

He added that his criticism was not borne out of hatred or personal animosity, but out of a duty to speak the truth as required by his faith, even when it concerns someone close to him.