By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Senator representing Yobe East has stepped down from the 2027 race, throwing his weight behind Governor Mai Mala Buni as his preferred successor in the National Assembly.
Daily Trust reports that Senator Mustapha Musa (Kulas) announced his withdrawal in a statement, declaring his full alignment with party leaders and the political arrangement for the 2027 general elections.
“I hereby formally withdraw from the contest for the ticket,” he said, emphasising that he would not seek any other elective office.
He also directed his supporters to stop circulating campaign materials promoting him for any elective office.
Senator Mustapha further congratulated former Secretary to the State Government, Baba Mallam Wali, who has emerged as the preferred governorship candidate of the party leadership.
He wished Wali and all APC candidates success in the upcoming elections.
The senator, who was eyeing the governorship ticket, expressed profound gratitude to Buni and Senator Ibrahim Geidam, Minister of Police Affairs, for their “mentorship and sustained support”, which he said shaped his political journey from his early roles as Executive Secretary of the Yobe State Scholarship Board to Commissioner and eventually Senator.
Daily Trust reports that the Senator is Geidam’s in-law as the Minister is married to Kulas’s biological daughter.
Similarly, Buni is also an in-law to Geidam. He married the minister’s biological daughter shortly after his swearing in as governor in 2019.
Some political supporters have said the ongoing development in Yobe polity signals a strong push for inclusion and unity within the APC, as the party consolidates its strategy ahead of the 2027 general elections.