Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has identified Kwara, Benue and Nasarawa as three states where internal disagreements are causing concern for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Sule raised the issue during a meeting of the North Central Grassroots Mobilization Network held at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, in Abuja.
The gathering was attended by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda; SGF, Senator George Akume; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; former Kogi State governor, Idris Wada; former Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong; the deputy governor of Plateau State; National Coordinator of the North Central Grassroots Mobilization Network, Arch. Sonny ST. Echono, and other party stakeholders.
According to Sule, the APC is facing internal challenges in the three states, although he noted that efforts were being made to resolve the disputes before they affect the party’s electoral prospects.
He said the disagreements were largely connected to competition for elective positions and differences over preferred candidates for the 2027 elections.
The governor urged APC leaders and members to manage their differences responsibly and avoid public comments capable of worsening divisions within the party.
Sule said many APC members remained committed to President Bola Tinubu, but warned that disputes over other candidates could reduce the party’s ability to secure votes across the various levels of the election.
“The bigger challenge is the one within the party, where you have people who are holding positions within the party, and they are now saying that we will vote for the president, but we will not vote for this, we will not vote for that, we will not vote for you,” Sule said.
He explained that such declarations could create frustration among supporters whose preferred candidates were not backed by party leaders.
“The people are saying, why are we going to vote for the president if you are also not going to support our own candidate?” he said.
The governor advised party members with reservations to exercise restraint, saying public confrontations could harm the APC’s interests ahead of the polls.
“My idea is that even if that’s what those kind of people want to do, please make less noise about it, because it’s going to affect us if we continue to make too much noise with a lot of bragadocio,” he said.
Sule also said voters could support Tinubu for different reasons, including personal loyalty, an assessment of his performance or the influence of candidates they support at other levels.
“But believe it or not, there are people who will vote for the president because their candidate is saying we are going to vote for the president,” he said.
He stressed that APC leaders must recognise the connection between support for the President and support for candidates contesting governorship, National Assembly and state assembly seats.
The governor commended the APC national leadership for promoting reconciliation, particularly the decision by the national chairman and other senior officials to attend the North Central meeting.
The North Central Grassroots Mobilization Network said it would hold a grand rally on October 10 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, as well as a medical outreach in Benue State, grassroots advocacy tours and town hall meetings across the six states in the zone and the Federal Capital Territory.
The network said the programmes were aimed at strengthening grassroots mobilisation and securing a strong turnout for Tinubu in the presidential election scheduled for January 2027.
In September, the governor also reacted to the political coalition being promoted by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. He said he was relieved that Wike had not listed him among APC governors allegedly opposed to the coalition.
Sule made the statement during an interview with TVC while discussing the disagreement between Wike and some APC governors over the minister’s political activities.
“Thank God I’m not on that list. I feel relieved that I’m not on Wike’s list of APC governors fighting the Rainbow Coalition,” Sule said.
He questioned the arrangement involving Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while serving in an APC-led administration.
“Wike is one of the ministers in this administration, and if he says he wants to support President Tinubu from another party, remember he’s not an APC member,” he said.
“What’s the whole essence of an alliance? I think the Governors’ Forum message was misunderstood.”
Wike had earlier named Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun as three APC governors he claimed were opposed to his political activities.
The minister has maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is intended to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election across party lines and is not designed to weaken the APC.
The APC Governors’ Forum, however, rejected political arrangements that could undermine the party or its candidates in the forthcoming elections.
Wike has argued that voters can support different parties at different levels, citing the 2023 elections as an example.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and House of Assembly elections,” Wike said.
The minister has continued to insist that the coalition is not a substitute for the APC but a platform for politicians from different parties to support Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
COURTESY: PoliticsNigeria
