Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State yesterday, declared Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, the current senator representing Nasarawa West senatorial district his preferred choice for the 2027 governorship election.
What this means, according to analysts, is that since both the governor and Wadada are in the All Progresives Congress (APC) Gov Sule, being the leader of the party in the state would do all he can to make Wadada get the APC ticket
It is believed that this has been the pattern in the state where most of the governors since 1999 always picked and supported a particular aspirant out of many.
The declaration by the governor, our correspondents observed, is already raising dust within the APC in the state as other aspirants consider the open support to Wadada by the governor as a biased and an undue interference.
Former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, who is interested in vying for the APC ticket had since last week hinted that he would not accede to any consensus or anointing of candidate, saying the Electoral Laws makes it clear that where one aspirant does not agree to consensus, all should go for direct primaries.
Adamu says he has no fear if the contest is thrown open in direct primaries as he knows that he is the choice of the people having done much to relate with them to understand their plight.
Some of the aspirants like Mohammed, however, say they have no problem with the governor choosing among them since he is the leader of the party in the state.
Gov Sule had while endorsing Wadada, described him as the embodiment of the “Muje Maha” spirit that has defined his administration’s approach to governance and political inclusivity.
The governor said the search for a successor had lasted over a year and involved wide consultations with foreign and prospective investors, youth groups, women organisations, traditional rulers, party officials, and stakeholders across the state’s three senatorial zones, as well as selected cabinet members.
“We have to look for people who have the capacity to be able to win this election,” Sule told the gathering.
How the gov arrived at the decision
Media aide to Gov Sule, Ali Abare, who threw more light on how Gov Sule arrived at the decision on Wadada, explained that after exhaustive consultations with stakeholders, the field was narrowed to three aspirants deemed capable of winning in the general elections.
The governor added that the aspirants had also requested equitable distribution of elective positions between the two federal constituencies in the zone. He said with the governorship ticket going to one constituency, they asked that senatorial and other legislative positions reflect the interests of the other and Gov Sule said he had no objection and gave his full support to the arrangement, urging appointees to help work it out.
He said it was after further consultations that a final decision was reached in favour of Senator Wadada and the governor commended the maturity of aspirants from Nasarawa West Senatorial District, noting that they had met among themselves and collectively agreed to support whoever emerged as the preferred candidate.
Sule cautions against mocking or disparaging aspirants
In a swift reaction, chairman of the Rtd IGP Adamu Campaign Committee on Counter and Mobilization, Isa Nathaniel, rejected the endorsement.
“We condemn it in totality. Gone are the days where such actions have prevailed,” he said, recalling that the late President Muhammadu Buhari had endorsed former Senate President Ahmed Lawan, and former Nasarawa governor and ex-APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu announced Lawan as the preferred choice, while the current President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, emerged instead.
Nathaniel said earlier before Thursday’s meeting, the governor had organized a critical discussion in the party where two agenda items were discussed: the issue of consensus and direct primaries. He said at the end of the day, the critical stakeholders of Nasarawa State adopted direct primaries.
He added that the governor’s decision to handpick Wadada as his preferred candidate was his prerogative, “his own cup of tea,” but insisted “it’s no longer business as usual.”
He said if APC folds its arms and allows things to go this way, “I am telling you APC will be opposition in Nasarawa politics.”
Aspirant Ahmed Mohammed accepts decision
Former Accountant General of Nasarawa State and APC governorship aspirant, Musa Ahmed Mohammed, on his part, however, urged his supporters to accept Governor Sule’s decision to back Senator Wadada as the party’s preferred candidate for the 2027 governorship race.
Speaking on Thursday when his supporters visited him at his residence in Lafia, Mohammed said he convened the meeting to “sympathise with one another and encourage ourselves over what happened yesterday.”
“All of us here have faith, whether Muslim or Christian. And the God we believe in designed us to accept in faith whatever happens, whether good or bad,” he told the gathering.
Mohammed explained that Governor Sule had invited all APC governorship aspirants from the three senatorial districts to a meeting in Abuja, where he confirmed that the 2027 governorship ticket had been zoned to the Western Senatorial District; Mohammed’s zone.
He said the seven aspirants from the Western zone subsequently met as directed by the governor to trim the list to one or three names. “Because we wanted to respect him, we asked him to choose whoever he wanted from among the seven of us, because power comes from God and only one person will become the governor of Nasarawa State. So the governor has done what we asked him to do,” Mohammed said.
Those in the race for APC ticket
Those interested in the APC governorship ticket for Nasarawa, apart from Wadada, Mohammed Adamu Abubakar and Musa Ahmed include Professor Sani Haruna; Tanimu Adamson;. Shehu Tukur; Dr Faisal Shuaib;. Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba;. Abu Giza;. Dr Joseph Haruna Kigbu and Hassan Liman
Governor Sule’s declaration of Senator Wadada as his preferred successor fits a pattern that began with Nasarawa’s first civilian governor. Abdullahi Adamu of Keffi LGA in the Western zone governed from 1999 to 2007.
As his tenure wound down, he backed the late Aliyu Akwe Doma as his preferred candidate from southern zone of the state.
When Umaru Tanko Al-Makura from Nasarawa concluded his tenure in 2019, he anointed Abdullahi Sule of Akwanga LGA in the Northern zone as his preferred gubernatorial candidate.
Controversy over zoning
Across both transitions, two threads run through Nasarawa politics since 1999: informal zoning and the incumbent’s “preferred candidate” announcement. Together they form a gentleman’s arrangement. Each governor has used it to signal continuity, reward loyalty, and manage elite expectations within the ruling party.
By 2027, Nasarawa West Senatorial District will have been out of the governorship for twenty years. The last Western zone governor was Abdullahi Adamu, who left office in 2007. Doma came from the South, Al-Makura from the South, and Sule from the North. That gap is now the core of Sule’s claim to fairness and for backing Wadada.
Analysts say since some of the aspirants are already disagreeing with the choice of the governor, the party may be compelled to hold a direct primary where all members of the party would vote for their choice.
The issue of zoning would however play a key role as there are prevailing sentiments on rotating the seat.
A former governor of the state is also believed to be backing the ex IGP and may use his influence at the national secretariat of the party to prevail on the APC not to agree to the endorsement.
Responding, Senator Wadada said as the preferred aspirant for the gubernatorial ticket, he is grateful for the demonstration of trust and confidence.
“It is a call to higher service, one that compels renewed dedication to the peace, unity, and continued development of Nasarawa State.
Ahmed Aliyu Wadada was born on 15 October 1964 in Keffi, Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. He is of the Hausa ethnic group. He began his education at Abdu Zanga Primary School, Keffi, before proceeding to Government Secondary School, Miango, Plateau State, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1983. Wadada then attended the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, earning a National Diploma in Business Administration in 1987 and a Higher National Diploma in Business Administration & Management in 1993.
Before going into politics, he worked in the private sector as a Senior Clerk at United Bank for Africa, Procurement Officer at Benue Cement Company during his NYSC, and Distribution Manager at Kano Tobacco Distribution Company. 094
Wadada’s political career started in the House of Representatives, where he served two terms and built a reputation for eloquence and constituency engagement.
In 2022, he resigned from the APC after challenging the delegate list for the Nasarawa West senatorial primary in Keffi and Nasarawa LGAs. He joined the Social Democratic Party, won its nomination, and contested the February 25, 2023 Senate election. Despite alleged restrictions on his campaign by the ruling party, he polled 96,488 votes to defeat APC’s Shehu Tukur with 47,717 and PDP’s Musa Galadima with 46,820.
The victory was seen as a major upset because Nasarawa West is the zone of APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu. He currently serves in the 10th National Assembly as Senator for Nasarawa West. He is married to Hajiya Maryam and Hajiya Zainab Ahmed.