Group Asks Yuguda To Prove Bribery Allegation Against Tuggar

A support group, Tuggar Vanguard, has rebutted allegations by former Bauchi State governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, that the minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, offered a $150,000 bribe to influence party processes during the All Progressives Congress (APC) congresses in Bauchi State.

In a statement issued in Bauchi on Friday, the group’s chairman, Garba Mohammed, described the claim as a serious accusation that must be backed by verifiable evidence.

He was reacting to reports alleging financial inducement linked to the APC delegation’s report on party congresses in the state.

He said, “The allegation of financial inducement to the tune of $150,000 in relation to the APC delegation’s report on the party congresses in Bauchi State is a serious accusation that demands credible proof. In any lawful society, allegations of bribery cannot rest on conjectures, hearsay or political bitterness.

“If evidence exists, it should be laid before the appropriate authorities. Until then, it remains an allegation and must be treated as such. More troubling, however, is the damage Yuguda does to his own reputation by resorting to such an unsubstantiated claim. That he would wish to sink so low says far more about his feeling of entitlement and where he stands today in the political life of Bauchi than it does about Ambassador Tuggar.

“Bauchi needs and deserves real change, not recycled bitterness, political grandstanding and unverified accusations of those who feel it is their right to hold feudal-like reins of power in Bauchi.”

He warned that making unsubstantiated claims could damage Yuguda’s own reputation, noting that such statements reflect more on the accuser than the accused.

The group also dismissed claims that Yuguda played a role in Tuggar’s political rise, pointing out that the minister won election in 2007 to represent Gamawa Federal Constituency based on personal merit and grassroots support.