The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has declared Senator Aliyu Wadada as his preferred governorship candidate under the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Sule made the disclosure during a meeting with political appointees at the Government House in Lafia, signalling early political alignments as the race for his successor gathers momentum.
Wadada, who currently represents Nasarawa West in the 10th Senate, recently defected from the Social Democratic Party to the APC, a move widely seen as positioning himself for the governorship contest.
Meanwhile, the governor has criticised political office holders who present routine responsibilities such as salary payments and road construction as major achievements.
Sule spoke on Wednesday at the 59th inaugural lecture of Nasarawa State University, where he reflected on governance and leadership expectations.
“A rendered project that has no direct impact on the people you are leading is no service. Any time you see a governor saying that one of my achievements is that I pay salaries or provide water, power, building roads, even if they are flyovers, that governor doesn’t know the hell he is talking about,” he said.
The governor stressed that such responsibilities are basic obligations of government and should not be celebrated as extraordinary accomplishments.
“This is because that was what you were voted to do in the first place. So, just because you are paying salaries, building roads and other projects, you think it is an achievement? That is not the leadership that people are looking for,” he added.
He urged leaders to adopt innovative approaches that deliver real impact on citizens’ lives.
“But thinking outside the box to do things that people don’t actually expect that impact on them and what they do is what life is all about. That is what service is for,” Sule said.
Citing examples from his administration, Sule explained how adopting unconventional solutions helped address persistent challenges.
He recalled how repeated fire outbreaks at a market led to a cycle of government financial assistance to affected traders.
“When I was living in America, every time I came home, I was told that our petty traders in the market always got their items burnt and the government would come in to support them. From ₦2m, we started going up to ₦5m and before I came, I think the highest was ₦10m, which was shared,” he said.
According to him, the pattern continued until his administration decided to take a different approach.
“After nine months or a year later, the market would get burnt again. And then, we would go back as the government, find something to give them and then continue. This was actually what was going on for a long time until we started thinking outside the box.
“We resolved that we must build a modern market that we will not wake up to discover get burnt again. Since the time we rebuilt it, we have not heard one single report that the market got burnt again,” he stated.
The governor also pointed to interventions in Auta, near Keffi, where flooding had been a recurring problem.
He said improved internally generated revenue enabled the construction of a bridge, which has significantly reduced flooding in the area.
Also speaking at the event, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Ike Neliaku, commended Sule’s development efforts, particularly infrastructure projects across major corridors in the state.
In his lecture, the Vice President of the institute, Emmanuel Dandaura, warned that poor alignment between communication and performance could undermine public trust.
He emphasised the need for institutions to prioritise accountability and responsiveness.
According to him, organisations must continuously engage stakeholders and ensure that their actions match their messaging to maintain credibility.