There was tension in Nasarawa State yesterday following an alleged support being given to one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in the state by Governor Tanko Al-Makura.
Tension heightened following reports trending on social media and in some quarters that the governor had settled for a General Manager of Dangote Sugar, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule as his preferred candidate.
Sources close to Al-Makura said the governor had had a meeting with a few of the APC governorship aspirants, including the state’s Deputy Speaker, Godiya Akwashiki, in Abuja where he persuaded him and the Deputy Governor, Mr. Silas Agara, who was present at the meeting, to step down for Sule.
The meeting, according to sources, lasted for few hours when the governor called a shot when he was sure that the invitees were convinced by his persuasion to jettison their governorship ambition in favour of his choice candidate.
New Telegraph reports that the state had witnessed increasing tension in the last few days when the news of the purported endorsement of Sule by Al-Makura broke out; the development had sent tongues wagging in the state.
Following the development, four of the APC governorship aspirants in the North senatorial district had swiftly held a meeting and had resolved not to support the candidature of Sule, but to support any one among them to challenge the governor’s candidate.
New Telegraph findings showed that the development had dampened the morale of some other APC governorship aspirants, who hitherto embarked on consultations only to abruptly cut short their consultations and abandoned campaign offices to re-strategise ahead of the party’s primaries slated for September.
At the moment, the political atmosphere in Nasarawa State had become hot as many groups were seen discussing the intrigues and twists in the politics of the state arising from the alleged backing of Sule by Governor Al-Makura.
Efforts to speak with Director-General, Strategic Communications and Press Affairs to Governor Al-Makura, Lamai Yakubu, were unsuccessful as he could not be reached at the time of filing this report.
