2027: I May Yield To Pressure To Contest Senate Seat – Governor Sule

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has laid to rest speculations on his stand on the Nasarawa North senatorial seat in 2027.

Addressing the members of the State Executive Council and the deputy governor Dr. Emmanuel Akabe who were in Gudi to pay him the traditional Sallah homage yesterday, Governor Sule said he may bow to pressure by leaders and people of the zone to vie for the slot.

The governor, who previously said he had no intention of contesting any elective office after completing his tenure, said the pressure from his people had become too strong to ignore.

“With all the pressure coming from our leaders, I don’t want them to feel offended that I have not been responding, I promise them I will contest when the time comes,” he said.

Sule noted that he was initially reluctant to agree to contest because of the difficult experience of the last governorship election. He explained that the experience shaped his firm resolve to avoid future electoral contests.

According to him, his original plan was to support someone else for the senatorial seat, a person who had worked hard for him and lost his own election. He said the  plan failed when even the man he was trying to help turned around and joined those urging him to run.

The governor also pointed to the need to provide quality representation for the North in the Senate as a key consideration in his decision, saying the region deserves a strong and effective voice at the national assembly.

He said it was the visit of his traditional ruler from Akwanga, the Chun Mada, Pastor Samson Gamu Yare, who introduced him publicly as the distinguished senator for the zone, and repeated public calls by the paramount rulers of the zone, that finally pushed him to speak openly.

Governor Sule explained that the day before the Sallah gathering at Gudi, at a meeting attended by traditional rulers and senior politicians from across Nasarawa North, he finally gave them his word.

He apologised to his Executive Council members for not informing them first before the word got out, describing the statement he made the previous day as one that should rightly have been made first at the cabinet level.

Earlier in an opening speech, the deputy governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, who led the delegation, used the occasion to renew the loyalty of the cabinet to the governor.

“We will swim with you until we get to the touch line, and together we will shout hooray.  We have come, we have seen, we have conquered,” he said.