By Rayyanu Bala

Politics, as the saying goes, is local. And if there was ever a moment to demonstrate the truth of that familiar political principle, Tuesday’s APC stakeholders’ meeting in Lafia was one of them.
The meeting, convened by former Governor and former APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, was not an ordinary gathering. It brought together the leadership and critical stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in Nasarawa State to discuss reconciliation, unity and, most importantly, the party’s strategy for the 2027 elections.
Governor Abdullahi Sule was there. Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada was there. Senator Abdullahi Adamu was there. Aspirants, party leaders, local government chairmen and other stakeholders were also there.
But one notable absence stood out: former Governor Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
For me, that absence was not the best.
Of course, Senator Al-Makura, as a former governor and a critical stakeholder in the APC in Nasarawa State, may have had engagements in Abuja related to the Renewed Hope Ambassadors. That is understandable. But there are occasions when the politics of home should take precedence over the demands of Abuja.
This, in my view, was one of those occasions.
Think about it. An important APC gathering was taking place in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State. The meeting was about the APC. It was about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It was about the 2027 elections. It was about bringing together members who were unhappy with the outcome of the party’s primaries. It was about reconciliation and putting the party in a stronger position ahead of a crucial election.
And it was happening in his own state.
Yet, he chose to remain in Abuja.
Something, frankly, appears amiss.
This is not about diminishing the importance of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors’ meeting in Abuja. It is about understanding the political symbolism of being physically present when your party and your state are having a consequential conversation about the future.
Politics is not only about what happens at the top. It is also about relationships, presence, consultation and the ability to sit with your people when difficult issues are being discussed.
In fact, the absence becomes even more striking because of the nature of the Lafia meeting.
This was not a gathering organised by an opposition party. It was not a meeting designed to embarrass anybody. It was an APC family meeting. President Tinubu’s 2027 project was part of the conversation. The governorship question was part of the conversation. Reconciliation within the party was part of the agenda.
So, what better place for a major APC figure from Nasarawa to be?
Senator Al-Makura is not just another party member. He is a former governor of Nasarawa State. His political weight in the state is obvious. His presence would therefore have sent a powerful message about his commitment to the party and, perhaps more importantly, about the willingness of the state’s political leaders to close ranks ahead of 2027.
Indeed, there are meetings you attend because they matter. The Lafia meeting was supposed to matter a lot to Senator Al-Makura, perhaps even more than the Renewed Hope Ambassadors’ meeting in Abuja.
There are moments when your people need to see you.
And there are political signals that are better communicated by physical presence than by explanations afterwards.
The APC is currently trying to heal the wounds from its primaries. Governor Sule spoke openly about the need to bring back members who left the party, while Dr. Faisal Shuaib and others from Nasarawa West pledged their support for Senator Wadada and the wider APC ticket.
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who had pushed strongly for the governorship ticket to return to Nasarawa West, eventually endorsed Wadada’s candidacy.
These are significant political developments.
Whether one agrees with the outcome of the primaries or not, the message from Lafia was clear: the party wants to move forward.
That process requires everybody who matters to be involved.
And this is where Al-Makura’s absence becomes unfortunate.
If APC stakeholders are being asked to put personal differences aside and work for Tinubu, Wadada and the rest of the party’s candidates, then the state’s major political actors should lead by example.
You cannot preach party unity in Abuja while effectively distancing yourself from the same party at home, when the APC family is gathered in your own backyard.
When an important political event is taking place in Lafia, your state capital, involving your party, your President and the political future of your state, and you are in Abuja attending to another engagement, people will naturally ask questions.
Could the senator have made an appearance in Lafia and returned to Abuja? Could his representative have handled the other engagement?
Those are legitimate questions.
Because all politics is local.
A politician may sit in Abuja and make decisions, but what is the point of attending an APC meeting in Abuja while staying away from the locality, knowing fully well that the political mandate that takes you there derives from home?
For Senator Al-Makura, therefore, Tuesday’s absence was not the best political decision, at least from the standpoint of party solidarity and local engagement.
What the APC at all levels now needs is reconciliation, consultation and relationship-building.
But if the Nasarawa APC genuinely wants to present a united front for Tinubu and its candidates in Nasarawa, then every major stakeholder has a role to play.
That includes Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
Whatever differences exist within the party must be discussed. Whatever grievances remain must be addressed. Whatever political ambitions people have can be negotiated.
But first, people have to be in the room.
And on Tuesday, in Lafia, one of Nasarawa APC’s most prominent political figures was not.
That, in my view, was a missed opportunity—an opportunity that must not be allowed to become a pattern.