Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has thrown a sharp jab at the political elite in Abuja, insisting that meddling from the capital, not voter sentiment, cost the All Progressives Congress (APC) the Osun State governorship race. Speaking on Tuesday in Lafia while handing over Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acknowledgement slips to his party’s candidates for governorship and State House of Assembly seats, Sule did not mince words.
“APC lost partly because of the Abuja politicians, you know, because if not for some of these Abuja politicians, there was no way for APC to lose in Osun,” he said. The governor’s remarks cut through the usual diplomatic gloss, laying the blame squarely at the feet of those who, in his view, traded party loyalty for personal scheming.
But Sule was quick to pivot, arguing that the Osun outcome was less a defeat for the APC and more a testament to the raw power of incumbency. He took a swipe at those reveling in the party’s setback, suggesting their celebration was dangerously misplaced. “So, for people who are celebrating, they don’t even understand what the hell they are celebrating. What they are celebrating is that the power of a sitting governor in Osun is what has stopped them from winning,” he said.
The governor then issued a thinly veiled warning to opposition figures eyeing Nasarawa, reminding them that his own position carries weight. “Nasarawa has one hell of a sitting governor,” he said, with a tone that left little room for doubt about who he meant.
On the national stage, Sule offered measured praise for President Bola Tinubu, steering clear of grandiose promises. “I’m not going to brag about anything that we are going to do, but what I can tell you is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done well,” he stated, a quiet endorsement that suggests cautious optimism within the party’s ranks.
Turning his attention to the APC candidates before him, Sule delivered a blunt warning against the toxic habits that often plague Nigerian politics. He urged them to steer clear of sycophancy, blackmail, and the underhanded tactics that can corrode a party from within. “It is time, because politics actually involve, you know, a lot of sycophancy, blackmail, you know, underhand, and things like that. I’m begging you in the name of God, don’t get involved in that,” he pleaded.
His admonition went further, as he cautioned candidates against the dangerous game of secretly backing rivals while flying the APC flag. “When you are campaigning, campaign for APC. Don’t go with the drama that maybe I can actually campaign for myself and campaign for another candidate of another party, if you do that, you know, people will see. And the people that see, they are also going to make sure that they react to you in that manner,” he said.
Sule made his stance on party loyalty unmistakably clear, rejecting any talk of realignment or anti-party activities. “I don’t believe in this anti-party, I don’t believe in this realignment, I don’t believe in that. And I’m begging you also not to believe in the same,” he added, before urging the candidates to simply “go out there and vote for the party that you believe in.”
The governor also took a moment to explain the significance of the INEC slips he was distributing, noting that they serve as official recognition by the electoral commission and allow candidates to verify the correct spelling of their names before ballot papers go to print. It was a small but crucial step in a political season where every detail matters.
