2027: Governor Sule Under Pressure To Align With Tinubu Or Clarify Loyalty

A political group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria’s North Central zone has urged Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, to publicly align with President Bola Tinubu and his anticipated 2027 re-election campaign or clearly define his position.

The group, known as the North Central APC Forum, raised the call following recent statements made by Governor Sule concerning the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc, which had merged into the APC.

His comments have sparked questions about where his loyalty lies within the party’s evolving internal dynamics.

Amid recent political realignments, members of the CPC bloc have reportedly been approached by an opposition alliance led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

Yet in April, ex-Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, led prominent CPC figures in a public declaration of support for President Tinubu and the APC, distancing themselves from the opposition coalition.

However, Al-Makura’s stance was later challenged by former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who claimed that only former President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he represents, had the authority to dictate CPC’s political path.

During a gathering in Lafia on May 3, 2025, Governor Sule echoed Malami’s view, declaring: “There is only one person in this world that can decide for the CPC, and that is our father, Muhammadu Buhari. Nobody speaks for the CPC more than this man.

“The day he says CPC is with you, then CPC is with you. The day he says CPC is not with you, it is not with you. Because he is the CPC himself. He keeps carrying his 12 million voters along with him everywhere he goes.”

This remark triggered concern from the North Central APC Forum. Its chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, expressed displeasure, arguing that the governor’s stance clashed with the CPC bloc’s official show of loyalty to President Tinubu.

The Forum underscored that Al-Makura’s pivotal role in the party’s evolution lends him legitimate authority. They noted his historical significance as the only CPC-elected governor and one of the architects of the APC merger.

“Nobody will say he is more CPC than Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, the former Governor of Nasarawa State. It is on record that Al-Makura was the only person who became governor on the CPC platform, giving the party leverage in the negotiations that led to the formation of the APC,” the Forum stated.

The group cautioned Governor Sule against making further public declarations on the CPC’s political alignment and insisted that Al-Makura’s endorsement of Tinubu should stand as the bloc’s collective decision.

“We urge Governor Abdullahi Sule to make his position clear—either he is with President Bola Tinubu or not. If he is with the President, he should align with other progressives working towards the administration’s success and re-election in 2027,” the Forum said.

They further recalled Sule’s earlier critiques of some of Tinubu’s policies as another reason for their doubt regarding his commitment to the President’s agenda.

In contrast, the Forum praised Al-Makura and other CPC-aligned leaders for their unequivocal support for President Tinubu and confidence in his leadership.

“As stakeholders of the North-Central who have endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027, we salute the Tanko Al-Makura-led CPC bloc for standing behind the President,” the statement concluded.