Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has announced Emmanuel Ombugadu as the running mate to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Ahmed Wadada, for the 2027 election.
Mr Sule announced Mr Ombugadu’s selection after an APC stakeholders’ meeting at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Monday.
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The announcement followed consultations among party stakeholders and aspirants who had expressed interest in the deputy governorship position.
According to Daily Trust, which first reported the development, Mr Sule said the aspirants agreed to support whoever emerged from the selection process.
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“We had a couple of people eminently qualified, and every one of them made a decision similar to what we did with the gubernatorial election, that whoever is selected among them, they would all rally and support that person,” the governor said.
“So at the end of the decision, it was agreed that Honourable Emmanuel Ombugadu will be our deputy gubernatorial candidate,” he added.
Mr Sule urged APC members to remain united ahead of the 2027 election, saying the party could not afford to enter the contest divided.
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“We cannot go into these elections divided. That is the reason we invited this meeting, so that we can keep together, make a decision together, and go together,” he said.
Wadada’s emergence
Mr Ombugadu’s selection comes after Mr Wadada emerged as the APC governorship candidate following the party’s direct primary held across Nasarawa State on 22 May.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Wadada defeated six other aspirants to secure the party’s ticket, polling 195,285 votes across the 147 electoral wards in the state’s 13 local government areas.
Former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu came second with 39,675 votes, while Professor Mohamed Sani-Haruna scored 5,844 votes.
Mr Wadada’s emergence followed Governor Sule’s public endorsement of him as his preferred successor.
On 16 April, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Sule announced his support for Mr Wadada during a meeting with political appointees at the Nasarawa State Government House.
Mr Wadada subsequently described the endorsement as a “call to higher service” and appealed to his supporters to avoid attacks against other aspirants.
The governorship primary was preceded by disagreements over the method of selecting the APC candidate. While some party members considered consensus, the party eventually proceeded with direct primaries after multiple aspirants purchased nomination forms.
One of the aspirants, Hassan Liman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had also insisted before the primary that he would not withdraw from the race for Mr Wadada despite the governor’s endorsement.
Why Ombugadu?
Mr Wadada expressed satisfaction with the choice of Mr Ombugadu, saying the decision reflected the position of the party leadership and its zoning considerations.
“I feel happy, I feel committed, and of course fulfilled to have him as my deputy gubernatorial candidate, because it is the decision of the party and the leadership,” he said.
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He appealed to other aspirants who had sought the position to accept the outcome and work with the party ahead of the election.
“I call on all others too, particularly my brother Dr Kigbu, who everybody thought would get it, to accept this as the will of God. Together we shall weather the storm,” Mr Wadada said.
Mr Ombugadu thanked Mr Sule and other party stakeholders for the confidence reposed in him.
“I feel highly elated, and I take it as the will of God for me to be in this capacity. I thank the Governor and all the stakeholders of the state for this very critical decision,” he said.
He acknowledged that other aspirants for the position might feel aggrieved but said they had pledged to remain loyal to the party.
“Thank God they have pledged their loyalty to the party and agreed to work for the progress of the party come 2027,” he said.
The APC will now proceed with Mr Wadada and Mr Ombugadu as its governorship and deputy governorship candidates as the party seeks to retain control of Nasarawa State in the 2027 election.
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