BY VICTORIA IKEANO

The Nasarawa state government has dismissed as childish, insinuation that a victory in next year’s election for the ruling party’s governorship candidate, Engr. Abdullahi Audu Sule who is the immediate past group managing director of Dangote Sugar Refinery plc, would make the state and Sule beholden to Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Kano-born Alhaji Dangote is chairman of Dangote Group and is ranked as Africa’s richest man with his net worth put at $11 billion (about N4 trillion). The Nasarawa State government in 2016 signed a memorandum of understanding with Dangote for the setting up of a multi-billion naira sugar company in Tunga, Awe local government area of the state. Preliminary works including offloading of equipment are ongoing at the site which covers large expanse of land.

Once Sule indicated his interest to vie for the gubernatorial seat, speculations were rife that he was being propped up by Dangote to protect his investments in the state so as to forestall a repeat of his experience in neighbouring Benue state where the youths were allegedly extorting monies from his companies to enable them operate peacefully there.

Incumbent Governor Tanko Al-makura who came from the private sector to assume office in 2011 supported Sule as his anointed candidate in the recent primaries which Sule won by beating 10 other aspirants, his closest rivals being Aliyu Wadada and deputy governor Silas Agara that emerged second and third respectively.

In an exclusive interview in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Commissioner of Information, Tourism and Culture, Hon. Jamil Zakari described misgivings against Engr. Sule as petty talks without any iota of evidence. “As far as we are concerned, we have produced a flag bearer who is a good Nigerian, who has been paying his taxes, who is focused and determined to bring to bear his wealth of experience in moving Nasarawa state further. This candidate is not beholden to any person or religion; he believes in broad minded approach to governance”.

He said that the other aspirants had visited the governor to pledge their loyalty for the party, adding that the APC governorship primary election was the best ever conducted in the state because it was “peaceful, credible, devoid of violence”.

The other aspirants according to the Commissioner had congratulated the winner, Sule. “They have said they are not going anywhere; nobody was brutally offended to want to take comfort elsewhere”, Zakari predicted that the APC would triumph in the 2019 general elections as it perfects its strategies in unity.

Engr. Sule was born in Gudi, Akwanga-West Development Area of Akwanga zone, a zone that is yet to produce a governor for Nasarawa State