The Nasarawa Youth Forum of Ethnic Nationalities has publicly rejected Governor Abdullahi Sule’s endorsement of Senator Aliyu Wadada as his preferred governorship candidate for the 2027 race.
The forum stated that its opposition stems from Wadada’s own repeated claims in multiple public fora that he hails from Sokoto State, not Nasarawa.
Comprising representatives of 19 different tribes, the forum made its position known on Thursday during a media briefing held with members of the Correspondent’s Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Lafia. 
Speaking for the group, Coordinating Chairman Comrade Silas Yileni criticized the governor for endorsing a successor without consulting youth leaders from the state’s diverse ethnic communities.
Yileni described the governor’s declaration as disturbing, saying it was made without broad consultation and failed to carry the ethnic nationalities along.
He acknowledged the governor’s interest in the Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone but insisted that zoning has never been a legitimate or constitutional practice in the state’s political history.
According to the forum, the established practice has always allowed aspirants to contest against opponents from any zone, with voters choosing based on merit rather than informal zoning agreements.
The group argued that what the governor has done amounts to an unconstitutional arrangement that imposes a candidate rather than letting the people of the area freely select their preferred choice.
It demanded a level playing field for all governorship aspirants under the All Progressives Congress and vowed to resist the imposition of any non-indigenous candidate on the natives.
The forum stressed that its loyalty rests first with the people of Nasarawa, not with any political party, and called for an indigenous governorship candidate from the APC and all other parties regardless of religion.
In closing, the youth leaders urged citizens of the state to avoid provocative or disparaging remarks to prevent unnecessary tension as the political season unfolds.
