Ombugadu Declares 2027 Nasarawa Governorship Ambition Under APC

A former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, Mr. David Ombugadu, has declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ombugadu, who recently defected from the PDP to the APC, made the declaration during a town hall meeting with Eggon people of the Nasarawa North Senatorial District held in Akwanga on Friday. The former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Akwanga/Nasarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency, explained that his decision to join the APC was driven by his desire to contribute to the developmental efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule. He also dismissed speculations that his defection to the ruling party was aimed at securing the deputy governorship position in the 2027 election. “I want to use this opportunity to tell you that I will contest the Nasarawa North senatorial by-election to replace our late Distinguished Senator Godiya Akwashiki at the National Assembly,” Ombugadu said. “By God’s grace, I will go to the Senate and subsequently contest for the governorship of the state in 2027. “Anyone saying that I joined the APC to pursue the deputy governorship slot is not correct.” The former lawmaker added that if elected as senator during the forthcoming by-election, he would facilitate development-oriented projects for the Nasarawa North zone. According to him, such projects would include the provision of potable water, scholarship opportunities for students, agricultural empowerment programmes and improved electricity supply. Ombugadu also pledged to work closely with Governor Abdullahi Sule and other APC stakeholders to ensure the party’s victory in future elections, including the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027. “For the progress and development of Nasarawa State and Nigeria at large, let us give our maximum support to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Abdullahi Sule for APC’s victory beyond 2027,” he said. He commended Governor Sule for ongoing infrastructural development across the state, particularly the construction of flyovers and underpasses in Lafia, Akwanga and Keffi. Ombugadu further urged eligible citizens who had not yet obtained their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to do so in order to participate in upcoming elections. In their separate remarks, several political stakeholders expressed support for Ombugadu’s ambition. Among them were Mr. Jacob Ali, former PDP Nasarawa North Zonal Chairman; Mr. Istifanus Abaku, former Administrator of Akun Development Area; and Mrs. Lami Bako, former Speaker of the Akun Legislative Council. Leaders of the Eggon Political Forum and other community stakeholders also pledged their support and prayers for the former lawmaker, stating that Ombugadu enjoys strong grassroots backing. They expressed confidence that he would attract significant development to the Nasarawa North zone if elected as senator in the forthcoming by-election.

Nasarawa Assembly Passes N545.2bn 2026 Appropriation Bill

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has passed the 2026 Appropriation Bill of N545.2 billion into law, following deliberations at plenary in Lafia on Tuesday. The approved budget represents an increase of N27.6 billion over the N517.5 billion proposal earlier presented to the House by Governor Abdullahi Sule. Announcing the passage, Speaker of the House, Danladi Jatau, described the development as a major legislative milestone, noting that the budget would enable the state government to implement people-oriented projects aimed at driving overall development across Nasarawa State. According to Jatau, the approved estimates allocate N316.26 billion for capital expenditure and N228.72 billion for recurrent expenditure. He explained that the increase in the budget size was necessitated by the prevailing inflationary pressure, which has significantly affected the cost of projects and service delivery. He disclosed that security-related votes received an additional N14 billion, while the Ministry of Local Government was allocated an extra N7 billion. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism also got an additional N3.7 billion, alongside funding approval for the 55-kilometre Lafia–Kwandere–Garaku road project. The Speaker commended the House standing committees for what he described as their diligence and thoroughness during the budget defence and review process. He urged the executive arm to ensure full implementation of the budget once it receives the governor’s assent. “A Bill to authorise the issue of N545.18 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Nasarawa State for the 2026 financial year has scaled third reading and passed,” Jatau said. He subsequently directed the Clerk of the House to prepare a clean copy of the bill for transmission to the governor for assent. Earlier, the Majority Leader, Suleiman Azara, moved the motion for the passage of the bill, which was seconded by the Minority Leader, Luka Zhekaba. The bill was unanimously adopted by members of the House. Governor Sule had presented the initial N517.5 billion budget proposal to the Assembly on November 26, describing it as the “Budget of Strategic Consolidation.” During the presentation, he commended the legislature for its consistent support, particularly in ensuring the timely passage of appropriation bills.

Nasarawa Guber: Appeal Court Overturns Tribunal Verdict, Reinstates Abdullahi Sule

The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court on Thursday reversed the sack of the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule by the State Election Petitions Tribunal in its judgment delivered on October 2. Declaring the tribunal verdict a nullity, the court held that the Ezekiel Ajayi-led tribunal acted in grave error in using witness statements on oath and not front-loaded as required by law to arrive at the unjust conclusion of nullifying the election of the governor. The appellate court, in its judgment delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, said that the Tribunal was legally bound to act on witness statements filed along with the petition or front loaded within 21 days stipulated by law. The Court held that no petition can lawfully be amended outside the 21 days allowed by law as wrongly done by the Tribunal. Since the statements used by the Tribunal to sack the Governor were not front loaded in compliance with law, the statements were product of illegality with no probate value tor a law Court to act upon. The Court also dismissed the over voting issues also used to annul the election adding that allegations to that were not established by law. Justice Onyemenam held that the petition by the Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP was a nullity and invalid on the ground that the jurisdictional issues raised by the governor was unlawfully ignored by the Tribunal. According to the Court of Appeal, the Tribunal denied the governor fair hearing by not considering and making findings on the issues of jurisdiction raised at the hearing of the petition. Justice Onyemenam agreed that denial of fair hearing against the governor was fatal and tendered all decisions of the Tribunal invalid. In all, the Court of Appeal reversed all orders made against the governor and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and affirmed Sule as the lawfully elected governor of the state. INEC had declared Sule winner of the governorship election on the ground that he polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent David Emmanuel Ombugadu who secured 283,016 votes. In a split decision on October 2, the tribunal nullified Sule’s election and upheld Ombugadu as the winner.

Court Nullifies Abdullahi Sule’s Governorship, Declares PDP’s Umbugadu Winner

In a significant ruling, the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has nullified Abdullahi Sule’s governorship and declared David Umbugadu of the PDP as the winner of the 2023 Nasarawa State governorship elections. While two of the three justices on the panel led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi upheld this decision, Justice Ibrahim Mashi is currently delivering a dissenting judgment. More details later…