Nasarawa youths demand peaceful APC gov primaries

Ahead of the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress slated for next month, indigenous youth leaders from across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State have urged the leadership of the party both at the national and state levels to ensure that the primaries are peacefully conducted in the state.

Their demand followed the political tension currently evolving in the state by supporters of the various governorship aspirants who had declared their intentions to contest for the position in 2027 under the party’s platform.

The youth leaders who converged under the aegis of Concerned Nasarawa State Ethnic Youths Group lamented the situation during a press briefing on Sunday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

Coordinator of the group, Ibrahim Thaddeus Maiyanga called on all political actors; including  governorship aspirants, party leaders, and community stakeholders, to stop overheating the polity ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that the state deserves better than a politics built on scaremongering and fear.

Speaking on Governor Abdullahi Sule’s recent endorsement of the Senator representing Nasarawa West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Ahmed Wadada as his preferred successor in 2027, Maiyanga noted that the governor merely expressed a personal preference, which is his constitutional right under a democratic dispensation.

According to him, contrary to the false alarm raised by some politicians and other residents of the state, governor Sule will not impose Senator Wadada or any other aspirant on the people as speculated, noting that the APC is expected to conduct a free, fair and transparent primary election next month in the state.

He, therefore faulted a recent press statement by a group under the aegis of Forum of National Youth Presidents of Ethnic Nationalities, Nasarawa State Chapter, for rejecting the governor’s choice aspirant and threatening to “go back to their communities and mobilise against the injustice”.

Maiyanga said, “This is a veiled threat of political violence and ethnic blackmail. We, the Concerned Nasarawa State Ethnic Youths Group, condemn this in strong terms. No group has the right to intimidate others or preemptively reject the outcome of a democratic primary.

“The demand for an ‘indigenous’ candidate without defining the term is reckless. Every ethnic group in Nasarawa State Including Eggon, Alago, Gwandara, Mada, Migili, Tiv, Hausa, Fulani, and others are all indigenous to various parts of the state. No single group holds a monopoly over ‘indigeneity’.

“Let us take the State Assembly as an example where all tribes are represented. This goes further to show the multi-lingual nature of the state. We reject in strong terms any attempt to weaponise ethnicity for political gain.

“We will not support any individual or group that threatens the peace of our state for selfish political interests. We call on all ethnic youth groups in Nasarawa State to reject divisive statements and allow democratic processes to take their full course.”

The Concerned Nasarawa State Ethnic Youths Group further called on the forum to immediately stand down its rhetoric of ethnic mobilisation and withdraw every inflammatory statement capable of causing tension in the state.

The group also dissociated itself completely from the statement of the forum, insisting that it does not represent them and was not issued with their knowledge or consent.

“To the governor, to every aspirant, to every party leader, and to every citizen of Nasarawa State: let this political season be remembered for its maturity, its statesmanship, and its wisdom in recognising that how we compete matters as much as the outcome.

“Politics is transient. Governors serve and step aside. Elections are won and lost. But the peace of our communities, the unity of our people, and the sustained development of Nasarawa State must outlast every political season.

“These are worth more than any single governorship seat, and we will not allow them to be sacrificed on the altar of short-term political ambition,” Maiyanga added.