By Chief Douglas Otaru, Karu
While the dust occasioned by the gross failure in managing diverse interests arising from the conduct of the recently concluded elective congresses in Nasarawa State settles, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has, in a macabre dance of shame, desperately announced a preferred candidate ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial election. Such political insensitivity, if not checked, has the tendency of ruining the party’s chances at the general election, given the rising presence of opposition political parties in the state.
It is, however, unfortunate that power-hungry party leaders have sidelined rightful owners and stakeholders, ignoring other gubernatorial aspirants to anoint a preferred candidate without input from key stakeholders or the electoral college. In a desperate bid to cover their tracks, they have hurriedly approached President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to present a candidate without the anointing of the kingmakers or electoral college. Such moves, if not checked, pose fatal damage to the party’s chances of delivering the state for Mr. President come 2027. What a blatant disregard for democratic principles! What a political sacrilege! It is unacceptable, too.
I will say it again: I won’t stoop too low to criticize Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule. He has done well to the best of his conviction, but letting the party run on autopilot for this long has been his biggest mistake. Unfortunately, desperados in the party took advantage, hoodwinking him into believing all was well, defying voices of reason like mine. The state chairman privatized the party, treating it like his personal enterprise – and this is the result.
The State Chairman, Dr. Aliyu Bello, should have known that the people have the final say. Failing to consult former governors, His Excellency, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and His Excellency, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, and other stakeholders before choosing a candidate, under the guise of the governor’s preference, goes against democratic principles. Though they are deceiving people with claims that the party will still go on with the direct primaries as instructed by NEC, let it be on record that the chairman has compromised his position. His bias, by presenting his friend, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, as the preferred candidate, automatically disqualifies him from overseeing a fair primary. If he values his integrity, he should consider stepping aside to allow for free, fair, and credible primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Culled from Nasarawa Mirror