The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has said that the reforms being implemented by President Bola Tinubu are responsible for the growing interest of governors from other political parties in joining the All Progressives Congress (APC). In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by David Lawani, he said these reforms have empowered state governments to deliver visible development, making the APC more attractive ahead of the 2027 general elections
There are reports that you and your colleagues in the APC Progressive Governors Forum have an agenda to attract more governors into your party. What exactly do you gain from having more governors? Some argue that governors’ defections do not necessarily translate into electoral popularity.
I have heard that, and I have also listened to the opposite. The governors, as you know, are the leaders of their states. They are the ones who pay salaries. They are the ones who create most of the development. They are the ones looking after healthcare, education, youth, sports, agriculture, and everything. Definitely, anybody who says that governors do not influence what is happening would not have been elected in the first place. The truth of the matter is that the more governors you have, the more opportunities you have. And we saw that clearly in 2014 and 2015, when many PDP governors joined the new PDP and later moved to the APC. And as you all know, they did a lot in ensuring that the late President Buhari was elected in 2015. Anybody who tells you that the more governors you have, the fewer chances you will have does not know anything about politics. Because governors indeed play many roles in political affairs. That is what it is.
If that is the case, why did President Bola Tinubu lose his own election in Lagos State in the 2023 election?
He might have lost the 2023 Lagos election, but he won the national election. Elections are indeed in the hands of the electorate. The more governors we have and the more development they bring to the various states, the greater the impact the governors can make, and the higher the party’s chances. Today, I can tell you without any ambiguity, and without any objection you can think of, that the chances of APC today are far better than the chances of APC in 2023. I have visited so many states. In fact, I just came back from Jos, and it is a different state altogether. In the next few days, I will be in Adamawa for another political engagement. I am going there for issues concerning that particular state. Every state you go to, you will see lots of development taking place. Who is providing this development? The state governors. How are they doing it? With the support of the Federal Government. It is the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the reforms that he has carried out. That is where we are. Whoever tells you that governors do not have roles, let us wait and see. Look at what happened in Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, and the rest of them. You will see something different altogether. That was not the kind of election we are going to have again. We had one of the most challenging elections during that period. So many changes were taking place. All kinds of challenges. So it was a very challenging period. We believe that is not the kind of election we will have in 2027, by the grace of God.
What is your view about former governor Rauf Aregbesola, who knows the President too well?
Knowing President Tinubu too well and the 2023 election are entirely two different things. There might even be people who know him more than former governor Rauf Aregbesola. You are comparing apples and oranges. And I am sure that if brother Rauf were still governor of Osun State, he would not be speaking the way he does. If he did not fall out with the President, he would not be talking like this. He is still in APC. To be fair to him, he spoke like an opposition figure, and that is the way opposition is supposed to speak. In fact, I expected even more hostile responses than that. What he did was the right thing. In politics, you always have to puncture the good things of your opponent to make them look less attractive. That is how it works. But there is no doubt about it: the more governors you have, the more chances you have, period.
What do you make of the ADC’s statement that it will be APC against Nigerians?
Let me clear this point. It is not even an election between the APC and the people. It is candidates against candidates. Here in Nasarawa, we actually vote for candidates. I will tell you what happened in 2011. Nasarawa had been known as the stronghold of the PDP. In the 2011 election, on the same day, at the same hour and minute, the PDP won 20 of the 24 seats in the House of Assembly. Yet, the PDP candidate still lost. It is an election for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the APC platform. It is an election between Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima and all other candidates from other parties. The 2023 election shows the same thing. In Nasarawa State, the Labour Party actually won the presidential election. APC came second. But when it came to the governorship election, the Labour Party was not even number three or five. So, in Nigeria, rather than being APC against the people, elections are actually candidates against candidates. Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima oppose all other candidates, not the people of Nigeria. People vote for the candidates they believe have made an impact on their lives, whether for governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives, or House of Assembly. That is how it is and always has been. It is a wrong impression to say APC is against Nigerians.
What do you want to do with more governors?
Why are parties in panic when governors leave if they do not matter? Why does a governor’s going become a betrayal? Why does it become a problem if governors have no impact? We have welcomed the 29th governor from Plateau State. It was 28 after welcoming the governor of Taraba, who will be officially received in the next two days. These governors are the ones who will be selling the party, selling themselves, and selling Mr President. That is what is going to happen. So the more governors you have, as I said, the better. Let me repeat what I once said: even if all 36 governors in Nigeria were in APC, Nigeria would still not become a one-party state. It is not even going to happen, based on all indications. We are now 29 and counting, and a few more governors will likely join. They are joining because of the impact of the President’s various reforms. If you go to every state in the federation, you will see significant changes due to the revenues these governors are now receiving. If you visit many local government areas, you will see the impact. Where are these resources coming from? From the reforms of the President. Some people say governors do not matter when they leave, but when they leave, the same people complain. So, since governors don’t mean anything, let them go, and we will see at the end of the day whether it makes sense. Yes, we want more governors, and we are likely to get more.
Is it right to say that the Governor of Adamawa and others are coming?
I will not say anything, but you will see them one after another. You have counted 29, the next will be 30, and it will continue like that. But I am not in their minds. I do not have any APC governors who are leaving. If I did, I would have told you. So far, all the governors we have seen are joining the APC. I cannot say more for now.
Is there any possibility of the President running with a Christian?
The party has said clearly that this is not a subject for discussion. You heard them say that. It was a slip. Why fix what is not broken? As far as we are concerned, we have a powerful team in the President and Vice President. If you ask me, I will say again: why fix what is not broken?
What about possible backlash?
Apart from the backlash we had in 2023? In 2023, many people were scared of the Muslim-Muslim ticket. At that time, it was just the ticket. We did not have other positions. We did not have the Senate President, Deputy Speaker, or SGF. It was only the ticket people were looking at. Today, you can see people from other areas in key positions. You can see who the ministers are. The so-called Muslim-Muslim ticket has had no adverse effect on non-Muslims. We have seen that over and over again. Religion is not the issue. That is why the party says it should not even be discussed.
What was agreed on their conduct of congresses, and how is the e-registration going?
Members of the NWC, including the national chairman, secretary, and vice chairmen, were all there. Two major issues were discussed. One was when the congresses should be held. The second was the fees for the expression of interest and other forms. Each state will determine the mode of the Congress. As you know, there are various modes: direct, indirect, or consensus. Any of the three is acceptable by INEC and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The stakeholders of each state and the state working committee usually decide this. One of the most interesting parts of the discussion was the fees. For instance, the ward chairman’s expression of interest is ₦5,000, while the ward chairman’s form is ₦20,000. This is being done to address the country’s economic challenges. And as you know, APC has always considered women; in many cases, they pay half or nothing at all. The e-registration is part of the digital era. It does not make sense to want to know your numbers and then search manually across states. With the new platform, you can register online and know your members in wards, LGAs, states, and nationally. That is what APC is doing.
What are you hoping to achieve with the e-registration?
It will do a lot for the party. Knowing your members helps you plan congresses, meetings, and programmes. You will have their phone numbers, NIN, and contact details. You will know who to invite and where to go. For planning and organisation, it is essential. It helps the party function effectively.
