Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has defended his political consultations on Senator Wadada’s emergence as his preferred successor, and dismissed claims of exclusion, insisting that the succession process was based on broad engagement and not a unilateral endorsement at the Presidential Villa.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Thursday, Sule said the controversy surrounding Senator Ahmed Wadada’s emergence had been misrepresented, stressing that he had consistently engaged stakeholders, including traditional rulers, political actors, and aspirants, long before any recent discussions.
On Senator Wadada’s emergence as his preferred successor, Sule pointed to his political history and capacity:
“The issue of Senator Wadada came as a result of so many factors… In 2003, Wadada contested for the House of Representatives and won. He came back in 2007 and won. During his period there, he was Chairman of the Capital Market Committee.”
He added:“When he became a senator… if you have a free and fair election for me, I will win my election. And he did. So he has shown by all standards that he has the capacity to win elections.”
Sule also cited Wadada’s political evolution and private sector exposure:
“He started his career with a bank. After that, he moved into the National Assembly. Business in Nigeria is about contact. If you know the right people, you will be able to bring business.”
However, the governor firmly denied claims that Senator Wadada was formally presented to President Bola Tinubu as a “preferred candidate” during a structured endorsement meeting at the Presidential Villa.
Responding to reported anger from former governor and his political mentor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Sule said:
“I think, I call him my mentor, Senator Al-Makura has every right to say everything he has to say. You can say that I avoided television, I avoided responding, I avoided Abuja completely so that I don’t get dragged into any kind of competition with him about what to say or not to say in front of the team. I decided to come to Abuja today mainly because of the biggest endorsement summit yet that we have ever had, which is part of what you say, I want to leave a legacy.”
He insisted that consultations had been ongoing and inclusive:
“In fact, our summit is clearly even saying that all transitions, you know, that is the team. Going back to what Al-Makura has said, it is really unfair if he says that people have not been carried along throughout this process. The idea of me looking for somebody to take over from me is something that started over a long time. I have made consultation with traditional rulers, with him and with his other colleague, who was the first executive governor.”
Addressing claims that he personally took Senator Wadada to President Tinubu for endorsement, Sule rejected the allegation outright:
“I think we have met a couple of times. We have met with stakeholders, we have met with the aspirants. I think his anger is that for me to take somebody like Senator Wadada to the President without involving him, that’s his anger.”
He clarified what actually happened at the Presidential Villa:
“This is the first time I’m speaking about it. We didn’t have a seat where I took Wadada and say, Mr. President, this is my preferred candidate. I actually went to the Villa on a different subject, mainly because of a by-election, and Senator Wadada also was at the Villa at the same time.”
“So I finished my meeting, I alone finished my meeting with the President. After my meeting, it was time to take pictures, and Senator Wadada was there.”
He further explained that discussions on succession were part of broader political conversations:
“One of the subjects that I discussed with Mr. President, of course, was that Mr. President, we are making an effort about getting a candidate that will take over from me. And part of the effort was that I met with stakeholders… and I met separately with the aspirants. It was during the meeting with the aspirants, eight of them, that they all came together and said… allow us to go and see if we can pick one.”
“They went, they couldn’t pick anybody. They came back and said, we believe in you… you will help us pick anyone. If you pick anyone of us, all of us will support you.”
Sule also pushed back against expectations that political leaders must always move in blocs when visiting the President:
“At what time is it now the right of a former governor to say that if a current governor is going to see the President, you have to carry the former governor? I think we are beginning to mix privileges and rights. It is not a right. Every time you have taken anybody, he has gone to see Mr. President. Nobody has ever questioned him for going to see Mr. President.”
“I think we are beginning to see some level of great depression or frustration. I don’t think it is a right that I’m going to see Mr. President, even a preferred candidate. I have to take anybody along.”
Beyond the political debate, Sule used the interview to highlight his administration’s economic strategy, which he said is anchored on investment-driven growth in mining, agriculture, infrastructure, and manufacturing.
“So all the people that have capacity and then the smaller companies in areas of our competitive advantage… we didn’t go into areas that we don’t have any. So it’s not a wild goose chase. We focus on mining, agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing.”
He cited lithium development as a key example:
“The lithiums. They all started in 2022. We didn’t have one mining company. Now we have major lithium investments, including what is now described as the biggest in Africa.”
On job creation, Sule said the priority was human impact over revenue:
“The biggest benefit is that they have employed our youth. Forget about the taxes we are getting, the revenue we are getting. I consider that secondary. We have employed our youth. So we are taking them off the streets.”
He added that several companies were already employing hundreds and thousands of young people across Nasarawa State.
Explaining the state’s reported economic performance and unemployment trends, Sule said the transformation was structured and data-driven:
“It all started when we came in. We came in with a blueprint. There was no way I would have just become governor without having some kind of insight.”
“KPMG conducted a survey… Based on that report, we came up with what we call the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy.”
He stressed that institutional reforms were central to his governance approach:
“We established institutions… the Bureau of Public Procurement… a multi-door courthouse where commercial and investment disputes are resolved faster. These are structures backed by law.”
“We are leaving behind institutions that must move beyond Abdullahi Sule. It is not about me, it is about the state.”
Boluwatife Enome
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