A serious political conflict is developing
in Nasarawa as Governor Abdullahi Sule openly accuses his predecessor, Tanko Al-Makura, of crossing the line by attempting to handpick his successor ahead of the 2027 governorship race.
Speaking during a television interview, Sule made it clear that while Al-Makura has every right to support any aspirant within the All Progressives Congress (APC), imposing a candidate is unacceptable and undermines democratic principles.
“As an individual, he had a preferred aspirant. And he has a right to have a preferred aspirant. And his preferred aspirant may not be my preferred aspirant,” he said.
“But to the point where now you say, I will select an aspirant for you to take over from you. I think that’s overdoing it.”
The disagreement is not just personal, it cuts deep into the politics of zoning and succession in the state.
Sule hinted that the push by Al-Makura is coming from a zone he believes should not produce the next governor, stressing that fairness must guide the process.
“Especially when it’s coming from a zone that I don’t believe is the right zone. So it’s not biting the finger that fed me,” he said.
Sule revealed that he has already escalated the matter to top national figures, including a former president and the current president, insisting that his approach has been consultative and transparent.
“I have gone to see the former president, I have gone to see the current president. I have carried them along, that’s not a right, that’s a privilege,” he said.
According to him, extensive consultations were held with stakeholders, particularly from the western zone, before he settled on his preferred candidate, Ahmed Wadada.
“I had this discussion that I have just told you with the aspirants of the western zone, and I decided to go and brief Mr President with the preferred candidate,” he said.
The governor disclosed that Al-Makura was not sidelined in the process, noting that he attended multiple stakeholder meetings, some of which turned confrontational.
“As far as the meetings are concerned, you know those meetings that we have had throughout, including the meetings that I said became very stormy between him and one of his childhood friends who was a former ambassador that made me to even rush and end the meeting, he was at those meetings,” he said.
“Every meeting of the stakeholders, he was invited to every event we ever had.”
Despite the tension, Sule maintained that his predecessor is free to back any aspirant, but drew a firm line against political imposition.
“You know the truth of the matter is that Senator Tanko Al-Makura, as an individual, he had a preferred aspirant, and he has the right to have a preferred aspirant, and his preferred aspirant may not be my preferred aspirant,” he said.
“Because of the fact that they come from two different zones, and I strongly believe then, I believe now, I believe tomorrow that it will not be fair to still go back to a zone that has just finished 12 years. That’s my justification.”
