Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa Governor

NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia

Ahead of the governorship election billed to hold in 2027, the incumbent governor of the State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule has called on aspirants claiming to have his blessing or that they are his administration’s preferred candidates, to desist from deceiving the people. Governor Sule spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Peter Ahemba, at the bi-monthly press briefing in Lafia, on Wednesday. Sule said the activities of such politicians are manipulative of the people and also distract him from his efforts to deliver on his campaign promises to the people.

The governor, who still has two years on his mandate, said: “We are all aware that the 2027 general election is coming and politicians are beginning to align and realign. Some are moving, consulting within and outside the state, based on their ambitions. This is causing some kind of distraction to the government of Engr. A A Sule, especially those who are going around, misleading members of the public, telling people that they are the government candidate, making claims that His Excellency, Engr. A A Sule has endorsed them and they are the government’s anointed candidate and so on.”

Ahemba said his principal frowns at such political antics, hence, he has “directed that we make it very clear to the members of the public, especially the people of Nasarawa State that there is no anointed candidate. His attention was drawn to the distractive tendencies by some politicians in the state regarding who succeeds him, come 2027. The governor views with dismay the activities of some individuals who have been parading themselves as ‘government candidates.’ The SSA said the “Nasarawa State government debunks this claim in its entirety and emphasizes that His Excellency Engr. Abdullahi Sule, the government of Nasarawa State, who still has more than two years to bring the dividends of democracy to the people of Nasarawa State, has not anointed any successor.”

The spokesman for the government noted that the authorities have yet to make any pronouncement on the 2027 polls. Therefore, all permutations and dropping at this stage are premature and lack any official imprimatur. “The governor has not made any pronouncement or taken any action stating his preference for any individual to succeed him. The choice of who becomes the next governor of Nasarawa State will be determined by the people through democratic processes,” calling on the public to disregard these claims, particularly designed to cause confusion and misinformation. The governor remains focussed on delivering on his mandate and serving the people of Nasarawa State to the best of his ability,” manifesting in road projects, the flyover, state secretariat complex, industrialisation drive, among others.

Mr. Ahemba also addressed issues pertaining to security, teachers’ recruitment and efforts to complete all ongoing projects embarked upon by the Sule administration. He noted that Governor Sule pays maximum premium to security, hence the appointment of a substantive commission and creation of a Ministry in-charge of security. This he said, becomes the basis for pursuing the industrialization commitment of the State. On teachers recruitment, he said the new members of the Teaching Service Commission have been empowered to begin modalities to recruit 1,500 teachers to man public schools in the State.