A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, Dr. Nura Manu, has distanced himself from ongoing talks about a possible consensus arrangement among aspirants ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Manu stated that he was not aware of any agreement to adopt a consensus candidate, insisting that he remains fully in the race for the party’s ticket.

The aspirant spoke shortly after appearing before the APC screening committee, where he described the exercise as interactive and engaging.

“The committee engagement has been interactive and we’ve interacted. They asked a lot of questions and we gave the answers as far as we could,” he said.

Speaking on speculations surrounding consensus talks within the party, Manu declared that he had no intention of stepping down for any aspirant.

“Well, I am not aware of any consensus in Bauchi. I have been preparing for elections. I have no intention of stepping down for anybody, so I am not aware of that,” he stated.

His position comes amid growing conversations within the APC over the possibility of adopting a consensus governorship candidate ahead of the party primaries in Bauchi State.

Political stakeholders pushing for the arrangement argue that consensus could help reduce internal divisions and strengthen the opposition party ahead of the 2027 governorship election against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

However, some aspirants and party loyalists have continued to insist on an open and transparent primary process to determine the party’s candidate.

Manu also used the opportunity to clarify the purpose of his proposed N100 billion intervention fund, stressing that it was not designed for security operations as speculated in some quarters.

According to him, the initiative is targeted at supporting the commercialisation of agriculture and small-scale enterprises as part of his broader development agenda for the state.

“Well, the N100 billion I am talking about is not for security. It is a N100 billion fund I am planning to bring for the state. It is meant to support the commercialisation of agriculture and small-scale enterprises. It is part of my three-point agenda for the state,” he explained.

The Bauchi APC governorship race is expected to be one of the most competitive contests ahead of the 2027 elections, with several prominent politicians already positioning themselves for the party’s ticket.