Nasarawa, created from Plateau in 1996 and bordering the Federal Capital Territory, is one of Nigeria’s most ethnically mixed states. The PDP held it until 2011, when it produced one of the most surprising results of that year: the only governorship won anywhere by Muhammadu Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change. Its governors have since gone on to national roles, and its 2023 result was settled only by the Supreme Court.
1999 and 2003: Abdullahi Adamu
Abdullahi Adamu, a lawyer and former minister of state, won the January 1999 election for the PDP with 321,319 votes. In April 2003 he was re-elected with 505,893 votes against 108,588 for the ANPP’s Aliyu Akwe Doma. His deputy in the second term was Labaran Maku, later Minister of Information. Adamu went on to the Senate and was national chairman of the APC in 2022–2023.
2007: Doma switches sides
Doma, who had challenged Adamu in 2003, joined the PDP and won its ticket in 2007. On 14 April 2007 he took 467,302 votes against 232,709 for the ANPP’s Solomon Sunday Akku.
2011: the CPC’s only governor
Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, a businessman who had left the PDP, ran for the new CPC in April 2011. He unseated Doma by 324,823 votes to 320,398, a margin of just 4,425, and became the CPC’s only governor. In 2013 he took the party into the APC merger.
2015: Al-Makura against Maku
Al-Makura was re-elected on 11 April 2015 with 309,746 votes (50.9%). His main challenger was Labaran Maku, Adamu’s former deputy and a former information minister, who ran for APGA and polled 178,983, ahead of the PDP’s Yusuf Agabi on 119,782.
2019 and 2023: Abdullahi Sule
Al-Makura’s successor, Abdullahi Sule, a businessman and former managing director of Dangote Sugar, won the APC primary in 2018 against Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada and others. In March 2019 he took 327,229 votes against 184,281 for the PDP’s David Ombugadu, a former member of the House of Representatives, with Maku third on 132,784.
The 2023 rematch was much closer: 347,209 votes (53.1%) for Sule against 283,016 (43.3%) for Ombugadu. On 2 October 2023 the election tribunal deducted votes it found invalid and declared Ombugadu the winner. The Court of Appeal reversed that in November, and on 19 January 2024 the Supreme Court affirmed Sule’s election.
The results at a glance
| Year | Winner (party) | Votes | Runner-up (party) | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Abdullahi Adamu (PDP) | 321,319 | APP candidate | not published |
| 2003 | Abdullahi Adamu (PDP) | 505,893 | Aliyu Akwe Doma (ANPP) | 108,588 |
| 2007 | Aliyu Akwe Doma (PDP) | 467,302 | Solomon Sunday Akku (ANPP) | 232,709 |
| 2011 | Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (CPC) | 324,823 | Aliyu Akwe Doma (PDP) | 320,398 |
| 2015 | Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (APC) | 309,746 | Labaran Maku (APGA) | 178,983 |
| 2019 | Abdullahi Sule (APC) | 327,229 | David Ombugadu (PDP) | 184,281 |
| 2023 | Abdullahi Sule (APC) | 347,209 | David Ombugadu (PDP) | 283,016 |
2027: Wadada against Ombugadu
Sule is term-limited. In May 2026 Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, who lost to Sule in the 2018 primary, won the APC ticket. INEC’s final list for the 6 February 2027 election shows Emmanuel David Ombugadu running for the PDP for a third time and Nuhu Angbazo for the ADC.
