Published by Osasere Edomwonyi Ikpoba
The Social Democratic Party has formally declared former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, as its governorship candidate for the 2027 Nasarawa State election. Adamu emerged through a substitution primary held on Saturday in Lafia, following the withdrawal of the party's previously listed candidate, Musa Adamu Angba, whose name had earlier been filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission as a placeholder.
Declaring the result, the Chairman of the SDP Electoral Committee for Nasarawa State, Joseph Achille, said the primary was conducted peacefully across the state's 13 local government areas, with 28,637 delegates participating in the exercise. "Having scored the total votes peacefully and lawfully, it gives me singular privilege, by the powers conferred on me by the National Executive Committee and the National Working Committee, to declare the result that Mohammed Abubakar Adamu scored the highest lawful valid votes," Achille said. He added that the exercise was "free, fair and credible" before inviting the winner to deliver his acceptance speech.
In his acceptance speech, the former police chief expressed gratitude to the party and pledged to work tirelessly to change what he described as "bad governance" in the state. "We will not neglect social amenities that are required. We've gone round the state, we have seen all the roads that are in the hinterlands are neglected. We'll make sure that we take care of those," Adamu declared, promising to extend healthcare services beyond urban centres to rural communities.
Adamu, who previously contested and lost the APC governorship primary before defecting to the SDP, identified agriculture and solid minerals as central pillars of his development agenda. "Nasarawa State is an agrarian state. We have vast expanses of land that is conducive for agriculture. We shall invest so much in it so as to feed our families, to feed the people of the state, and also the country at large," he said. He also criticised the current handling of the state's mineral resources, vowing to ensure that the benefits of exploitation accrue to the people.
The substitution primary put to rest weeks of speculation and confusion over the SDP ticket. In August, INEC had published a list of governorship candidates for Nasarawa State that included Musa Adamu Angbazo of the SDP, while Adamu's name was notably absent. At the time, Adamu's campaign organisation insisted that the former police chief was the party's authentic candidate and had officially completed his online registration with the SDP.
The Director of Media and Strategic Communications for the Adamu campaign, Otaru Douglas, said the affirmation had ended speculation and demonstrated the party's unity ahead of the election. "The people have shown uncommon resilience and commitment to changing the governance narrative of our dear state. They have rejected politics of intimidation and inducement and have chosen competence, experience, integrity and proven leadership," he said.
SDP national chairman, Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar, who attended the Lafia primary, said the former IGP needed no introduction to the people of Nasarawa. "He has led the Nigerian Police with utmost discipline, integrity, and commitment to the rule of law, and made Nasarawa State and Nigeria proud, to the extent that he was appointed or elected the second policeman all over," he said. The party's presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, also urged residents to vote for Adamu, expressing confidence that INEC would conduct a credible election based on the peaceful outcome of the Osun State governorship poll.
Adamu now faces a formidable challenge against the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Aliyu Ahmed Wadada, as well as candidates from the Peoples Democratic Party and other political parties. However, his campaign has pledged to run a strictly issue-based strategy, focusing on the lack of basic social amenities, neglected roads, and inadequate healthcare facilities across the state.
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