Nasarawa 2027: Ex-IGP Adamu emerges SDP candidate as primary faces legal challenge

By Musa Baba Adamu

Former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Nasarawa State for the 2027 election, but the process that produced him has come under legal scrutiny.
Adamu emerged at a direct primary conducted by the party in the state on Saturday, September 5, through an affirmation voice vote monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
His emergence followed the withdrawal of the party’s earlier candidate, Musa Adamu Angba, whose name had previously been submitted to INEC.
However, a legal practitioner, Obere A. Kana, has challenged the validity of the primary, alleging that the SDP breached provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, in replacing Angba with Adamu.
Kana, an associate of Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, made the allegation in a statement issued in Keffi.
He specifically cited Sections 33 and 82(1) of the Electoral Act, arguing that the SDP failed to comply with statutory requirements governing the replacement of candidates and notice of party primaries.
According to him, the SDP had submitted Angba’s name to INEC as its governorship candidate in accordance with Section 29(1) of the Act, while the Commission subsequently published his particulars on August 29.
Kana said Angba had earlier withdrawn his candidature through an affidavit sworn before the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 10, 2026, reportedly in favour of Adamu.
He argued that Section 33 requires a political party to conduct a fresh primary within 14 days of a candidate’s withdrawal in order to nominate and submit a replacement.
The lawyer therefore contended that the SDP primary held on September 5, coming more than 14 days after Angba’s alleged withdrawal, was conducted outside the statutory period.
He further questioned the notice given to INEC for the primary, saying the party’s notice dated August 24 for an election scheduled for September 5 amounted to only 13 days.
Kana maintained that Section 82(1) requires political parties to give INEC at least 21 days’ notice before conducting a primary, while Section 82(6), according to him, provides consequences for non-compliance.
He consequently described the SDP primary as “null and void ab initio” and argued that Section 88(3) could prevent a candidate produced through an invalid process from contesting the election.
“There are various precedents decided by superior courts on this,” Kana said, urging stakeholders to examine the circumstances surrounding the primary against the Electoral Act and relevant judicial precedents.
Meanwhile, shortly after his emergence, Adamu pledged to make infrastructure, healthcare and other basic services priorities if elected governor.
The retired police chief said his campaign would focus on practical issues affecting communities across the state, promising to identify specific needs at the ward and local government levels.
“During the campaign, we will be specific about what we intend to do in every local government and every community,” he said.
The development introduces a fresh legal and political dimension to the SDP’s 2027 governorship campaign in Nasarawa State, with Adamu’s candidacy now facing questions over the legality of the process through which he emerged.