Ex-IGP Adamu Wins Nasarawa SDP Gov Ticket, Pledges To Tackle “Misgovernance’ 

Former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, has clinched the governorship ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Nasarawa State for the 2027 election.

Adamu emerged winner of the fresh primary conducted by the party on Saturday at the Ta’al Hotel, Lafia, the state capital.

The SDP had fixed fresh primaries in Nasarawa and Gombe states for September 5, 2026 to replace candidates who withdrew from the race.

The exercise in Nasarawa followed the decision of Musa Adamu Angba, to relinquish his mandate to pave the way for the former police chief to contest on the party’s platform.

Our correspondent reports that the primary was supervised by a three-man electoral committee comprising Mr. Joseph Achille Yaabu, Secretary Ibrahim Ahmad and Temitope Adedaramola, Esquire, and monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), party agents and security personnel.

Announcing the result, Secretary of the committee, Ibrahim Ahmad, said the direct primary was conducted across all wards in the state and collated at the 13 local government areas — Akwanga, Awe, Doma, Karu, Keana, Kokona, Nasarawa, Nasarawa Eggon, Lafia, Obi, Toto and Wamba.

He said a total of 28,637 delegates participated and voted peacefully for the sole aspirant.

“Having scored the total votes peacefully and lawfully, it gives me singular privilege, by the powers conferred on me by the National Executive Committee and the National Working Committee, to declare Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Adamu as the candidate and flag-bearer of the Social Democratic Party for Nasarawa State,” Ahmad declared.

The declaration was greeted with chants of “SDP! Power! Progress!” and “Ice Governor!” — Adamu’s popular nickname — by party faithful drawn from across the state.

Adamu, Nigeria’s 20th Inspector-General of Police, had earlier resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), after losing the party’s governorship primary in the state. His campaign organisation said he had officially registered with the SDP online and was ready to contest.

Speaking shortly after he was declared winner, Adamu expressed delight over the conduct of the exercise and promised to tackle what he described as bad governance in the state.

“I am delighted that the primaries have been conducted and we have been declared winner. My family and the people of Nasarawa State are delighted,” he said.

“We are going to work tirelessly to change the bad governance that is taking place in Nasarawa State for the better, Insha’Allah. We will not allow the government to fall into the hands of another bad person.”

The SDP candidate said his tour of the state revealed decayed social amenities, particularly rural roads and healthcare facilities.

“We have gone round the state, we have seen that all the roads in the hinterlands are neglected. We will make sure we take care of those. We will provide healthcare not only in the urban cities, but also in the rural areas,” he said.

He described Nasarawa as an agrarian state with vast arable land and promised massive investment in agriculture, while also faulting the current mode of mineral exploitation in the state.

“Nasarawa is endowed with mineral resources. The way it is being handled now, the way it is being exploited, it is not to the benefit of the people. We are going to look into it and make sure the benefit comes to the people,” Adamu stated.

He said his campaign would be issue-based and local government-specific, and pledged to work with the party’s presidential candidate to rescue the country.