2027 Gov’ship Race: Nasarawa APC Stakeholders Settle For Direct Primary

All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in Nasarawa State have opted for direct primary in the election of the party’s standard bearer for the 2027 election.

This was the outcome of a meeting of the stakeholders held at the Nasarawa Lodge in Abuja.

The meeting which was brokered by Governor Abdullahi Sule was attended by governorship aspirants, members of the National Assembly, the deputy governor, state assembly members, minister and chairmen of federal government agencies and parastatals from the state.

Announcing the outcome of the meeting to journalists, Governor Sule explained that the forum provided a platform for all the key stakeholders to freely express their views on how the party should navigate the primary election season in a manner that keeps the APC united and strong.

“We have very strong aspirants, most of them who have held top positions in this country, some of them still holding positions. These are people we have to treat with respect. We have to remind them about the importance of working together to conclude this exercise,” he stated.

He said majority of those at the meeting came out strongly in favour of a direct primary, a position he said is consistent with the views of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has always maintained that direct primaries give every party member a voice in determining who flies the party’s flag.

The governor assured the people that the process would be open, transparent and in line with the APC constitution and the Electoral Act, leaving no room for grievances.

Sule urged the aspirants to accept the outcome of the primary in good faith, warning that whoever chooses to leave the party after losing a transparent and democratic exercise would only be demonstrating an inability to accept defeat.

“Nobody, nobody whatsoever will have any excuse to leave the party, because we are going to have a very transparent, democratic process in line with the constitution of the party and the Electoral Act. So, the person who leaves after losing is leaving because he does not know how to lose,” he said.

On the question of which senatorial zone should produce the next governor, Governor Sule said the matter was thoroughly discussed at the meeting and he made his position clear.

The governor noted that while the term “zoning” has been used loosely in the past, what is actually at play is the principle of equity and brotherhood among the three senatorial zones.

Governor Sule recalled that Nasarawa South Senatorial Zone, covering the Lafia axis, produced the governor for 12 years, while Nasarawa North, covering the Akwanga axis, currently holds the office.

He argued that in the spirit of fairness, it is now the turn of Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone, covering the Keffi axis, which has not produced a governor in over 20 years.

“I keep insisting, and I stand by that, in line with the spirit of brotherhood, let us take it to Keffi Zone, which has not produced a governor for 20 years,” he stated.