Nasarawa Succession Battle: Sule Defends Wadada, Pushes Back on Al-Makura

The Nasarawa State Government has defended Governor Abdullahi Sule’s decision to endorse Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as his preferred governorship aspirant for the 2027 elections, following criticism from former governor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ali Abare, the government said Sule acted within established political traditions in the state, insisting that the endorsement was neither premature nor improper.

“With due respect for Senator Al-Makura and his place in the history of this state, we are duty-bound to set the record straight,” the statement read, stressing that the governor “has done absolutely nothing wrong.”

The government noted that the process being criticised by Al-Makura was similar to the one that led to Sule’s emergence as governor, recalling that the former governor had personally chosen Sule as his successor.

“It is important to recall that Senator Al-Makura himself, in an interview marking his 70th birthday, explained why he opted for Engr. Sule over other close associates who had shown interest in the governorship.

That decision was neither questioned nor considered premature,” the statement added.

It further highlighted that such endorsements have long been part of the state’s political culture, citing how a former governor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, also picked the late Aliyu Akwe Doma as his preferred successor.

According to the government, Sule’s decision followed extensive consultations with stakeholders across the state, including party leaders and aspirants, dismissing suggestions that the move was an imposition.

“This is not the conduct of someone who woke up one morning to impose a candidate. This reflects careful and deliberate leadership,” the statement said.

The government also recalled Al-Makura’s earlier remarks at an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Lafia, where he reportedly expressed confidence in Sule’s ability to choose a suitable successor and urged party members to support whoever emerges.

On the governor’s move to present Wadada to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the statement described it as a responsible political step.

“Informing the national leader of the party about major developments in the state is not only proper but expected. It would have been more questionable if the president was not carried along,” it stated.

The government, however, clarified that Wadada remains only a “preferred aspirant,” emphasising that the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries would ultimately determine the party’s candidate.

“The governor has made it clear that he emerged through a free and fair process and remains committed to ensuring the same standard in selecting his successor,” the statement added.

It called for unity within the APC as political activities gradually built towards the 2027 general elections.