In past weeks, the Nasarawa State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Joseph Ewuga, recently stepped down from the race to support his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, David Emmanuel Ombugadu.
Middle Belt Times gathered that Ewuga decided to step down in the interest of the growth of the state and the ‘popularity, general acceptance and track record of Ombugadu’.
However addressing journalists yesterday in Lafia, Rev. Angba Solomon Kuje, the LP’s candidate for the House of Representatives for Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency in the just concluded National Assembly election, said the the party favoured Governor Sule instead and was quoted as saying the decision of the party to support Governor Sule was arrived at after a series of meetings and consultations.
He said the move by Mr. Ewuga to align with the PDP’s governorship candidate, was a personal one and not a collective party decision.
According to him, the party learnt about Ewuga’s move through the media.
He pointed out that party members had carefully evaluated each candidate from all political parties in the state based on their merits, strengths, and weaknesses with a view to backing only one of them to victory in the conviction that the task of running the state extends far beyond a single person, ethnicity, or religion.
He added that members considered a candidate’s aptitude, capacity, character, experience, temperament, and managerial exposure while deciding which candidate to support.
The ability to maintain the diverse ethnic groups in the state together as one giant family, regardless of religion or cultural background, was crucially examined.
According to him, after careful deliberation, the Labour Party had reached the unassailable conclusion that Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, the incumbent Governor and member of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), stands taller, bigger, better, and stronger and as such deserves its support in the gubernatorial elections on Saturday.
This is how we feel. This is where we all agree. Come Saturday, this is the way to go,” he stated.