Balarabe Backs Wadada, Vows to Deliver Umaisha 100% in 2027
…Says Longstanding Relationship With APC Candidate Makes His Project His Own
From Suleiman Abubakar Rimi Uku
Immediate past Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, has declared his full support for the 2027 governorship ambition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, describing him as a candidate to beat.
Balarabe Abdullahi stated this on Tuesday in Lafia when he received members of the Senator Wadada Youth Ambassadors, a youth mobilisation and support group campaigning for Wadada's governorship bid, at his residence.
The former Speaker said his longstanding personal relationship with Senator Wadada, which predates the latter's emergence as the APC governorship candidate, had made the project particularly important to him.
According to him, Wadada is not only a friend and political associate but also someone with whom he shares similar political values and a commitment to the development of Nasarawa State.
“I have a long-time relationship with Senator Wadada. It is a personal relationship. He is a friend and political associate; therefore, his project automatically becomes my project.
“We understand each other very well, and we have the same political ideology. We tell each other the truth, no matter what it takes, without hypocrisy,” he said.
Balarabe, who commended the youth group for its grassroots mobilisation activities, urged them to sustain their engagement across the state, stressing that grassroots mobilisation remained critical to electoral success.
He assured the group of his continued availability for advice and guidance, saying, “I will always be there for you people at any time because it is our project. Collectively or individually, feel free to come for advice and guidance at any time.”
Reflecting on the 2023 election, the former Speaker explained that some APC members supported Wadada's senatorial ambition when he contested under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), saying the decision was based on their conviction that he was the right person for the position.
“In the last election, some of us in APC supported and worked for Wadada for the Senate under SDP, and I never regretted that.
“What we did was not anti-party but anti-person, because I knew he was the best man for the job. He has the capacity and will bring development to our people,” he said.
Balarabe, who represented Umaisha/Ugya Constituency in the State House of Assembly, also expressed confidence in his political structure, saying his previous electoral victories had given him sufficient experience in electioneering, mobilisation and grassroots strategy.
“I contested election in 2015 and I won. I contested in 2019 and I won, and I contested in 2023 and I won. We know how to win elections; we know the strategies and mobilisation.
“We will deliver Umaisha 100 per cent for Wadada, Insha Allah. We will win in 2027. God gives power, and we are requesting from Him. By His grace, Wadada will be the next Governor,” he declared.
On the political situation in Toto Local Government Area, the former Speaker expressed optimism that Wadada's campaign would make significant progress in the area, particularly in Gadabuke, while acknowledging challenges in Toto town.
“We will secure Gadabuke by God's grace, but the fact we cannot hide is that we have issues in Toto town, and we cannot run away from that fact.
“But by God's grace, it will be tackled in the long run. We will talk to our people, and they will understand us. Insha Allah, we will get there,” he said.
Balarabe further urged the youth ambassadors to intensify their grassroots mobilisation efforts, stressing that electoral politics was fundamentally driven by numbers, strategy and effective engagement with voters.
“I have been with Senator Wadada long before his endorsement by the Governor, so this project is dear to my heart, and we will do our best to deliver.
“I therefore urge you to do your best in your grassroots mobilisation. Politics is local; it is a game of numbers and strategies,” he added.
Earlier, Chairman of the Senator Wadada Youth Ambassadors, Zaidu Aliyu Tanko, said the delegation visited the former Speaker to identify with him as a political leader whose experience and leadership qualities were respected by the younger generation.
Tanko said the group also sought Balarabe Abdullahi's continued advice, guidance and support as it works towards mobilising young people across the state for Senator Wadada's 2027 governorship campaign.
