Following a comprehensive APC stakeholders conference in which tough decisions were made in advance of the 2027 election, Governor Abdullahi Sule stated that his ultimate objective is to pass the baton to a different governor who gets elected in 2027 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Inferred from his successful eight years in power, Governor Sule will not support any anti-party candidate over one of his allies who does not belong to the ruling party.
This was revealed by the governor during a speech given on Monday at the Government House during an extended APC crucial stakeholders meeting in advance of the planned 2024 local government elections.
The governor claims that even though his administration would carry out initiatives and programs in the education, health, and agricultural sectors of Nasarawa State’s economy, he will not be able to finish them all unless he transfers power to another APC governor.
Given the governor’s stance, it follows that the opposition party’s candidates in Nasarawa State will have to work hard to gain traction. However, the governor, who is not a death-dealer, will prefer that his successor come from the same party that made him. Among those who have expressed interest in the 2027 election and close friends of the governor are senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, the senator representing the Nasarawa West Senatorial District.
He stated, and I quote, “My ultimate goal as a governor is to hand over to another APC governor in 2027, as you all know and for those who don’t know.” If I had any dreams at all, they would be initiatives where we would try our hardest to make Nasarawa State proud in the fields of education, health, and agriculture, among other things. All of that, he continued, “won’t mean much to me unless we get together and transfer power to another elected governor under the APC.”
He highlighted that the only way the APC could achieve such a feat is by forgetting what happened during previous elections and to come together and unite in order to make the party victorious in the coming elections.
“What happened in 2019 and 2023 has happened and gone, as I have repeatedly stated and I sincerely mean it. God has blessed us with prosperity. I have absolutely no trouble harboring resentment toward anyone else,” he declared.
In order to help the party build even further on its wins, Governor Sule urged party members to put aside their animosity and rivalry and unite under a single front.
Governor Sule commented on the local government elections scheduled for November 2 and upheld the decision made by the stakeholders to select the party’s flagbearers by consensus.
“As everyone is aware of and our National Legal Advisor has verified, one of the legally approved primary procedures is the consensus. Fortunately, Nasarawa State has been using this since 2014. The existing chairs were chosen by consensus,” he stated.
The governor made an appeal for sacrifice, justice, and unity as only one person would win the position of chairman of a local government region, even though he noted that other party members have recently expressed interest in running for local government positions.
“In the end, there will only be one person in that position, so we should think about it. As our leaders and key stakeholders convene to choose a single individual. Instead of just asking you to choose one, I will also take this as a chance to urge you to choose three, as the party originally desired. I object to a scenario in which you choose someone and they claim the Governor has the authority to remove them and choose someone else instead. That kind of arrangement makes me uneasy,” he continued.
Additionally, Governor Sule emphasized the importance of taking into account the intricate matters of religion, ethnicity, and pre-existing internal arrangements within certain local government districts.
He noted that those hoping to become council chairmen must be capable, wise, foresighted, and fully committed to the APC. This is especially true given the reforms made to the state’s local government system, particularly the financial discipline ingrained in the outgoing chairmen, who left their councils with sufficient savings to even pay monthly salaries without using federation allocation.
He took advantage of the occasion to highlight some of the recent accomplishments of his administration, especially those resulting from his travels to China, India, and the US to attend the Woodrow Wilson Annual Conference and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“Our meager mining endeavors have grown to be a huge draw in a lot of locations. Particularly lately at UNGA, when the majority of mining corporations were eager to meet with the Nasarawa State team, we have been really appreciated. They hurried to come and find out after hearing that the governor was a member of the squad. This has been made possible by your cooperation, particularly locally.
“Nasarawa State has drawn interest from the US Department of Trade, particularly in the mining sector. As you all know, I just came from the Woodrow Wilson Conference in Washington DC where they wanted to know how come we have this sort of lithium that has this kind of purity. In China and India, the situation is the same,” he said.
Dr. Aliyu Bello, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, earlier made opening remarks during which he discussed the party’s achievements in winning back disgruntled members who had deserted after the 2023 party primaries.
According to Dr. Bello, the party led by him will stop at nothing to ensure that all of the APC members who left in 2023 join the party again.
“Notwithstanding this however, we are not relenting in our attempts to reconcile members of our party to make us to a stronger and formidable party. After the local government election, we plan to further up our efforts in this area throughout the entire state,” he said.
According to the APC chairman, the party will take part in the planned council elections in full and with the fervor, passion, and steadfast dedication necessary to win.
“Our task in this meeting is to work out the dynamics and modalities for electing our flag bearers for the Chairmanship and Councillorship seats as spelt in our party constitution, which provides for either the adoption of Consensus, Direct or Indirect Primary election of the flag bearers,” he stated.
Dr. Bello asked the parties involved to pick the party’s flagbearers as soon as possible so that the party can get ready for the early council elections that are scheduled for early next month.
Taking advantage of the occasion, he declared that the State Working Committee of the party has put forth the following costs for the party’s forms in the local government election of 2024: N5, 000,000 for the chairman’s nomination, N1, 500,00 for the chairman’s expression of interest, and N400, 000 for the councillorship nomination and expression of interest.
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the APC’s immediate past national chairman and the state’s first civilian governor, also spoke at the event. He charged party leaders at the ward and local government levels with upholding the party’s expectations of them and carrying out their assigned duties.
“What the ward and local government leadership can accomplish is crucial to the success of consensus. It is obvious that leadership will play a part in our party’s various structures. The party’s trust in you plays that function. Ward leaders and the local government have obligations. If there is a breakdown in agreement, they should be held accountable,” he declared.
On his part, immediate past governor of the state, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-makura said the 2024 local council polls is not like previous exercise, especially with the stature of the incoming chairman as established in the new law governing the local government areas.
“This election and the position of the chairman as entrenched in the new law, is not like the chairmen like we used to know previously, the obligations that go with this role as chairmen that are granted full powers.
In order for the person who ends up winning the position of chairman to be capable of carrying out the duties, we, as stakeholders, must supervise and direct the process. Someone who possesses the necessary qualifications as well as maturity, competence, and capacity. In this manner, we will provide the groundwork for a local government that would improve the welfare of Nasarawa State residents,” the speaker said.
Using the occasion, Senator Al-makura praised both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the National Chairman of the APC, for their efforts to guarantee the party’s victory in the Edo State gubernatorial election.
