{"id":199076,"date":"2026-04-19T18:38:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant"},"modified":"2026-04-19T20:12:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T19:12:23","slug":"gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant","title":{"rendered":"Gov Sule Defends Wadada as Nasarawa Aspirant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Nasarawa State Government has responded to criticism from former governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura over Governor Abdullahi Sule\u2019s endorsement of Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as his preferred governorship aspirant for the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued by Ali Abare, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Governor, the government said, \u201cWith due respect for Senator Al-Makura\u2019s person and his place in the history of this state, we are duty-bound to set the record straight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement stressed that Governor Sule acted within established political norms in the state and \u201chas done absolutely nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the government, \u201cIt is important to recall that the very process Senator Al-Makura now appears to criticise is the same process by which Governor Sule came to office. Senator Al-Makura himself, in an interview to mark his 70th birthday, disclosed for the first time why he opted for Engr. Sule as his successor over his close associates who had also indicated interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement added that such decisions have long been part of the state\u2019s political tradition: \u201cHe made that choice. He exercised that right as the then leader of the party. Nobody questioned him about it. Nobody told him it was too early. Even before him, former governor Senator Abdullahi Adamu picked the late Aliyu Akwe Doma as his preferred successor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government explained that Sule\u2019s decision followed a lengthy consultation process across the state, involving stakeholders from different sectors and all aspirants, noting: \u201cThis is not the conduct of someone who woke up one morning to impose a candidate. This is careful, deliberate leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also added: \u201cWe also wish to remind the public of what Senator Al-Makura himself said at an earlier APC stakeholders meeting in Lafia. He assured that he was convinced Governor Sule would choose his successor in the best interest of the state, that Nasarawa South would support that decision, and he called the governor a gentleman who would do what is right. He urged the entire party to rally behind whoever Sule selected. Those were his own words.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the governor presenting Wadada to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the statement said: \u201cInforming the national leader of the party about a major political development in one\u2019s state is not only proper, it is the responsible thing to do. It would have been more questionable had Governor Sule not carried the president along.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government clarified that Wadada remains only a \u201cpreferred aspirant,\u201d noting that party primaries will still determine the final candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Governor has said clearly that he came in through free and fair primaries and will conduct the same,\u201d the statement said while calling for unity within the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Nasarawa State Government has responded to criticism from former governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura over Governor Abdullahi Sule\u2019s endorsement of Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as his preferred governorship aspirant for the 2027 elections. In a statement issued by Ali Abare, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Governor, the government said, \u201cWith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":199075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-199076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nGov Sule Defends Wadada as Nasarawa Aspirant - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nasarawa State Government has responded to criticism from former governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura over Governor Abdull ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gov Sule Defends Wadada as Nasarawa Aspirant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Nasarawa State Government has responded to criticism from former governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura over Governor Abdull ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-19T17:38:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-19T19:12:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776625738.9963.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"412\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Gov Sule Defends Wadada as Nasarawa Aspirant\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T17:38:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-19T19:12:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant\"},\"wordCount\":474,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776625738.9963.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/gov-sule-defends-wadada-as-nasarawa-aspirant\",\"name\":\"Gov Sule Defends Wadada as Nasarawa Aspirant - 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