Nasarawa APC Crisis Deepens As Group Faults Primary, Rejects Al-Makura Blame

The crisis rocking the Nasarawa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has deepened, as a pressure group, Nasarawa Vanguard, faulted the party’s governorship primary and rejected attempts to blame former governor Tanko Al-Makura for recent defections from the party.

The group was reacting to reports that the state APC chairman, Aliyu Bello, planned to organise a protest against Al-Makura over alleged attempts to encourage APC members to defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Nasarawa Vanguard described the proposed protest as misplaced, urging the party leadership to address grievances arising from the governorship primary rather than blame the former governor for the crisis.

“The wave of defections from the Nasarawa APC has nothing to do with any behind-the-scenes support from Al-Makura. The real cause is the flawed governorship primary, which left aspirants and ordinary party members without any genuine opportunity to participate in the process,” the group said.

Several APC members have defected to other political parties amid disagreements over the party’s internal processes, with four state lawmakers,  Mohammed Omadefu, Isimbabi Garba, Kudu Ajegana and Inarigu Kana, among those who recently left the party.

The group also rejected attempts to portray Al-Makura as working against the APC, citing his relationship with President Bola Tinubu and his role in the formation of the ruling party.

According to Nasarawa Vanguard, Al-Makura emerged from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc and was among political figures involved in the 2013 merger that led to the formation of the APC.

It further noted that Al-Makura remains associated with the Tinubu administration, having retained his position as chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) board following its reconstitution in December 2025.

Nasarawa Vanguard described Al-Makura as “a founding member of the APC and a committed supporter of the President,” arguing that his support for a particular aspirant during the governorship primary should not be interpreted as opposition to the party or the President.

The group therefore urged Bello to stop “looking for scapegoats” and instead engage aggrieved party stakeholders to address the issues it identified as responsible for the defections.

Meanwhile, the immediate past Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Balarabe, has appealed to aggrieved APC members who defected to other parties to return to the ruling party.

Balarabe, who spoke with journalists in Lafia on Tuesday, said members who contributed to building the APC should not abandon the party at a time when it needed them.

He likened the situation to building a house and abandoning it “at the time you need it most.”

His appeal followed the defection of the immediate past chairman of Toto Local Government Area, Aliyu Abdullahi, from the APC.