LEADERSHIP
The forthcoming governorship elections in no fewer than 10 states have been upended by the outcome of the February 25, 2023 presidential election which exposed the limits to the strength of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) in states like Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Gombe.
In opposition controlled states like Delta, Enugu and Benue, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also performed abysmally, raising the prospects of a third force emerging victorious in the governing and state assembly polls rescheduled for March 18, 2023.
Findings by LEADERSHIP Weekend showed that the political establishments in these states have been jolted by the presidential election results and are bracing for more competitive races next week.
The ripple effects of the election outcome have been right at the top of the leadership of governing APC where the party chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, is reported to have blamed Governor Audu Sule for the loss of the state to the Labour Party.
This paper learnt that Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa who was until recently a senator representing the state, had initially vowed not to support the reelection bid of Governor Sule over what he felt was the governor’s negligence during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
In Nasarawa State, the Labour Party scored the highest votes in the presidential election, while the Social Democratic Party(SDP) was able to win two senatorial seats.
Just recently the Labour Party (LP) gubernatorial candidate in the state, Joseph Ewuga, stepped down from the race and endorsed the PDP candidate, Ombugadu.
LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that the incumbent governor is currently strategising to win the polls. Such moves have led to his recent endorsement by the national chairman of the APC Sen. Abdullahi Adamu.
This forced the governor to lead some emirs and stakeholders to the national chairman of the party to appease him and seek his support.
Adamu, during a grand rally on Thursday, however declared support for the re-election of Governor Sule.
The former senator representing Nasarawa West said he was working for the realisation of Governor Sule’s second term bid.
