By Francis Nansak, Lafia
With heated consultations gearing up in earnest among presumed successors of Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, in 2027, respite seems far-fetched.
The political landscape in the solid mineral state has never been this tense within the ruling party, where aspirants for the position of governor are big wigs, credible private and public servants of genuine exposure, as it is turning out to be.
On record in the state way back in 1999, the then-elected first executive governor, Dr. Senator Abdullahi Adamu, ran the race on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party with not less than three others in the party and three others from the defunct opposition parties, APP, AD, and others.
But in a dramatic twist, about a dozen interested governorship aspirants emerged in 2018 within the ruling All Progressives Congress, while the People’s Democratic Party had three aspirants.
This was, however, settled at the primaries with Engineer Abdullahi Sule and Dr. David Ombugadu emerging as flag bearers for their parties, respectively.
Moving into another round of the election, beginning with party primaries come June this year as stipulated on the INEC timetable, zoning is the talk of town.
This is so because in 1999, the first elected governor was from the western zone. After his eight years in office, the position rotated and the southern senatorial zone took their share.
But because the then-governor, late Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, served a single term, it paved the way for Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, also from the southern zone, and he stayed in office for two terms of eight years.
Zoning of the seat, at about the expiration of Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura’s tenure, became pertinent. However, other zones, the west and north, jostled for the position against the initial zoning arrangement. Luck then ran out on others as the then-governor Tanko Al-Makura endorsed and ensured that Engineer Abdullahi Sule, from the only zone that had not been given a fair play, succeeded him in 2019.
Having exhausted the first phase of the zoning arrangement, which helped in stabilizing the ruling party, Nasarawa West, which started by producing a governor, is seeking the chance to be given a second phase of the rotational system.
This also has caused agitations from some politicians from the southern zone.
However and in an interaction with the ruling APC state chairman, Dr. Aliyu Bello, he averred that the APC is yet to direct on zoning, not against, this is because the party will rather maintain unity, peace, and fair play before and after the primary.
“Therefore, whoever that is agitating for zoning or against the formula is at liberty to do so, as he or she has the right to. I want to be categorical about this. The governor remains the leader of our great party; he only said at different fora that he is a product of zoning, as such he will support zoning. If tomorrow he wakes up and says we should consider consensus election or zoning, as far as we are concerned, he is the leader of the party, we will be left with no choice but to align with his directive,” Dr. Bello said.
Be that as it is, the seeming agitations appear to be brewed by some critical stakeholders whose interest is fused in protecting not just their senatorial zones but their political sons with the view to succeeding the incumbent governor, who has no more than 16 months left to exit office as governor.
A public commentator, name withheld, however, said, “2027 election is between the masses and the former governors. But until when we get to the bridge, we shall know how to cross it.”
Findings indicate that the ruling APC will settle for a consensus election that may involve traditional rulers and some religious leaders for the purpose of maintaining unity and peace for the survival of the APC after Engineer Abdullahi Sule.
“There is little to be afraid of, except the APC fails to produce a popular person as Governor Sule’s successor.”Another pundit asserted.
