The 2027 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, has dismissed the profile of retired Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, as a factor that should determine who wins the state’s governorship election.
Wadada said no aspirant should assume that having served as Inspector-General of Police made him superior to others, stressing that he had occupied a position above such a rank as a member of the House of Representatives and currently serves as a senator.
He said the people of Nasarawa State were sufficiently informed to assess all governorship aspirants based on their records and achievements rather than their former positions or status.
The senator spoke on Saturday at Emale Hotel, Lafia, during the inauguration of officials of the Agatu United for Wadada support group and a rally organised to endorse his 2027 governorship ambition.
Wadada appealed to his supporters and other aspirants to maintain peace and avoid unnecessary confrontations ahead of the election.
He urged his supporters not to engage the opposition in needless arguments but to concentrate on selling his HEARTS agenda to the electorate.
The APC candidate thanked Governor Abdullahi Sule, the Deputy Governor, the leadership of the APC and the people of Agatu for their support, assuring them of his commitment to the development of the state.
Responding to a request for logistics support from the support group, Wadada announced the donation of a vehicle to the leadership of Agatu United for Wadada and pledged N10 million to assist its mobilisation activities ahead of the 2027 election.
Earlier, the Coordinator of Agatu United for Wadada, Comrade God’spower Ede, said the group was established to mobilise support for Wadada across Agatu communities in Nasarawa State.
Ede said the group had membership across the Ekye, Loko and Udege Area Administrative Councils and parts of Umaisha, as well as among Agatu indigenes residing across the state’s 13 local government areas.
He identified Wadada’s ancestral connection to Agatu through his late mother, alongside his experience as a two-term member of the House of Representatives and serving senator, as key reasons for the group’s support.
Ede appealed for logistics assistance to enable the group reach all 127 polling units across 102 Agatu communities in preparation for the 2027 campaign.
Also speaking, the Nasarawa State APC Chairman, Dr Aliyu Bello, criticised opposition parties, particularly the Social Democratic Party (SDP), for allegedly fielding candidates for governor, Senate and the House of Representatives from Lafia Local Government Area.
Bello argued that such an arrangement would deny other local government areas within the zone adequate political representation.
He called for fairness in determining who succeeds Governor Sule in 2027, describing Wadada as the aspirant best positioned to consolidate the achievements of the present administration.
According to him, Wadada played a significant role in securing federal approval for the upgrade of the Lafia Specialist Hospital and in reversing the relocation of the headquarters of the North Central Development Commission from Nasarawa State.
The lawmaker representing Doma South, Hon. Musa Ibrahim Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of the Agatu and Alago nations, also endorsed Wadada, describing him as the candidate capable of consolidating the achievements of the Sule administration.
He congratulated APC aspirants who emerged victorious in the party’s primaries across the state.
The Deputy Governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, represented by Hon. Safiyanu Oga, said aspirants boasting of defeating Wadada were wasting their time, arguing that elections were not won through street-level declarations but through sustained grassroots mobilisation.
Akabe contrasted the Sule administration’s projects, including roads, bridges and overpasses, with what he described as the reliance of opposition aspirants on sentiments and distribution of items.
He questioned what the opposition aspirants had achieved to warrant their preference over Wadada, while citing the senator’s record in the National Assembly.
He added that a vote for Wadada would further strengthen the political alliance between Doma and Agatu.
Governor Abdullahi Sule, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Mohammed Iliyasu Idde, acknowledged the contributions of the Agatu people to agriculture, commerce, public service and industry in Nasarawa State.
He urged stakeholders to sustain unity and a shared sense of identity among the state’s diverse communities as the 2027 elections approach.
The event culminated in the inauguration of Comrade Ede as coordinator of Agatu United for Wadada alongside other officials of the group, who renewed their commitment to mobilising support for Wadada ahead of the 2027 governorship election.