The Nasarawa State All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders have formally approved Governor Abdullahi Sule’s endorsement of Senator Ahmed Wadada (APC, Nasarawa West), as his preferred successor for the 2027 governorship election.
The stakeholders, comprising members of the House of Assembly, Local Government Chairmen, party leaders, youths, and women’s groups, stated this in Keffi Local Government Area (LGA), during a ceremony organised to welcome the senator home after the endorsement.
Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Danladi Jatau, who spoke on behalf of the 16 APC members in the assembly, appreciated Governor Sule for endorsing one of the best among the aspirants to succeed him.
The Speaker noted that the governor had consulted widely and the assembly members are fully in support of the decision, and would work assiduously towards the victory of Wadada in the primaries and the general election.
Jatau explained that Wadada is a loyal party man with the competence, experience, and reach to lead Nasarawa State to enviable heights.
He also appreciated other aspirants who had so far accepted the decision of the governor and appealed to the rest to see it as an act of God and align themselves with it and work for the success of the party at the polls.
“If God did not give you today, he can choose you tomorrow, even if it is not a gubernatorial position, it could be another position,” the speaker said.
On his part, Safiyanu Isa-Andaha, Chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), described Wadada as the most suitable aspirant to lead the APC to victory and sustain the development momentum recorded under Sule’s administration.
“As LGA Chairmen, we also consulted our people and on behalf of the 13 LGA Chairmen, we wish to say that we unanimously and unequivocally support the choice of Wadada by our hardworking and patriotic leader, the governor.
“We will therefore, mobilise to ensure he wins the primaries and the general election in 2027 and indeed becomes our next governor,” the ALGON Chairman noted.
Also speaking, Chairman of APC Nasarawa West Zonal, Isaiah Agah, appreciated God and the governor for granting the request of their zone that his successor should be from the western zone for equity and fairness.
He also appreciated the former governor and former National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Adamu, for being at the forefront of the agitation that the next governor should be from their zone.
In his response, Wadada said he was humbled by the governor’s confidence and the stakeholders’ approval and pledged to run an inclusive administration that would consolidate on Sule’s achievements in infrastructure, industrialisation, and security if elected in 2027.
“This endorsement is not about me; it is about the future of the state, I called on my supporters not to attack any aspirant physically, in the media or on social media because our campaign is issue-based.”
He appealed to other APC aspirants to join hands with him, stressing that the party’s interest was bigger than individual ambition.
Youths and women’s groups at the event pledged to mobilise in all the nooks and crannies of the state to ensure Wadada’s victory at the election.
Meanwhile, the Forum of National Youth Presidents of Ethnic Nationalities, Nasarawa State Chapter, has rejected Governor Abdullahi Sule’s endorsement of Senator Ahmed Wadada as his preferred governorship candidate, insisting that only an indigenous candidate should succeed him in 2027.
At a press briefing in Lafia, the group said it convened to critically assess the recent political landscape in Nasarawa State, particularly the governor’s declaration of Wadada as his choice.
The group’s Coordinating Chairman, Comrade Silas Yileni, said while the governor has a constitutional right to express a preference, his chosen candidate must emerge through a transparent democratic process.