In the streets, markets, wards, and local government secretariats across the 13 LGAs, another contest is unfolding quietly but powerfully.
It is the contest between two women who, if their husbands dream to govern Nasarawa becomes reality, will become the next First Lady of Nasarawa State.
They are, Hajiya Maryam Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, wife of APC governorship candidate, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada and Hajiya Rukayya Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, wife of former Inspector General of Police, Ex-IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu.
Their activities in the last few months suggest that in Nasarawa’s 2027 race, the battle of the “intending first ladies” is becoming critical to the aspirations of their husbands.
Aftermath of the APC party primary
When the APC governorship primaries was conducted on May 21, 2026, the battle was fierce. On one side was Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, who had the endorsement of the incumbent Governor, Abdullahi Sule, and eventually emerged as the APC flagbearer while on the other side was the former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu who insisted on the primary.
Adamu resigned from the party shortly after the primaries after which the Director General of his campaign organization, Abdullahi Yammani, said the ex-IGP went to register with the Social Democratic Party, SDP afterwards.
The move was further reinforced when the current SDP governorship candidate in Nasarawa State, Musa Adamu Angba, offered to relinquish his mandate to the ex-IGP. The development suggested a possible substitution that would pitch Adamu directly against Wadada in 2027.
While announcing his resignation from APC, the ex-IGP made it clear that his ambition was still alive and that he would pursue it on an alternative platform.
Our correspondent reports that as the two men repositioned for the bigger battle, their wives stepped forward pushing the contest to another level.
While their husbands eased on their public engagements to re-strategise on the bigger battle ahead, their wives became unrelenting moving from place to place and in no time created powerful visibility for themselves.
In a state where women form the largest voting bloc, their visibility, programs, and grassroots engagement expectedly, are now shaping perceptions, loyalty, and momentum.
Rukayya Adamu: Appreciation tour that became a movement
Shortly after the May 21 APC primary, Hajiya Rukayya Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, popularly called “Kwaliyar Lafia,” embarked on what her team described as an “appreciation tour.” The tour covered all 147 electoral wards across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State.
During the tour, she distributed rice, wrappers, and cash to women. The items were presented as a thank-you to APC members and other supporters who stood with her husband during the primary. More importantly, she used the platform to send a clear political message: that the contest was not over.
“The contest of my husband is alive and he will be on the ballot as governorship candidate during the 2027 elections,” she reiterated during the tour.
Beyond the distributions, Hajiya Rukayya has maintained a constant presence as she attends women and youth group events across the state while receiving delegations at her Lafia residence.
The wife of former Inspector General of Police was compelled to trek and walk through a running river to access Jimiya village in Jimiya Electoral Ward of Wamba Local Government Area during her ongoing statewide appreciation tour.
The visit to the rural community was part of efforts to appreciate supporters and extend goodwill to women and vulnerable groups across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State. .
She was later assisted by members of the community who mobilized motorcycles to convey Hajiya Rukayya and her entourage into the village. The gesture by the residents was received with appreciation, as the team continued its engagement with women and youth in the area as part of the campaign organization’s grassroots outreach ahead of 2027.
Chairman of the Contact and Mobilization Committee in the Adamu campaign organization, Isa Nathaniel, explained that the visits and assistance to women, youth, and vulnerable groups “is to appreciate them and to let them know that the Ex-IGP did not forget them and will continue to be with them despite what happened during the party primary.”
He said,“It is also to keep their hope alive to bring the kind of changes and development they expect to witness in the state,” Nathaniel added.
He was emphatic: “What we’re doing is not yet campaign but to appreciate our supporters and people of the state for their love before, during and after the primary.”
Yet the line between appreciation and early campaigning is thin. By sustaining contact, keeping structures warm, and reminding voters of the Adamu brand, Hajiya Rukayya, analysts say, is only trying to ensure that the SDP ticket, when finalized, will meet an already mobilized base.
Maryam Wadada: N325 million empowerment and the grassroots push
On the other side, Hajiya Maryam Ahmed Aliyu Wadada has taken a different but equally aggressive approach. In early August 2026, she launched a statewide women empowerment program.
The structure was simple and direct: 500 women per local government, “N50,000 grant each. With 13 LGAs, that totals 6,500 women and N325 million in direct cash support.
In what many beleiev was due to her recent engagements, Hajiya Maryam Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, wife of the APC governorship candidate in Nasarawa State, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, was attacked on her way from the Emir’s Palace in Lafia after paying a condolence visit over the death of the Emir of Lafia’s younger brother, Ahmed Bage.
The incident occurred close to the Lafia flyover as her convoy passed through the area where political activity was ongoing at the time. Despite the attack, no casualty was reported. The development highlights some of the risks being taken by political figures and their families as activities ahead of the 2027 elections intensify across the state.
Special Assistant on Social Media to Senator Wadada and member of the Strategic and Delivery Team, Ibrahim Victor Akawu, said the tour was designed to reach women at the grassroots.
“The essence of it is to support women across the local government, and to help alleviate the current hardship of the economy, and to create opportunities for livelihood, and putting resources directly in the hands of the women,” Akawu stated.
He noted that this was not her first intervention. Hajiya Maryam has, according to him, been involved in humanitarian programs including supporting hospital bills for the needy long before political activities intensified.
Akawu also hinted at what is to come. “As the campaign kickstarts, the people of Nasarawa State will see the unveiling of those projects. Particularly, projects that are going to touch the life of our people, particularly women, particularly the youth across the state.”
From all indications, the Wadada camp is not waiting for the official campaign flag-off to commence activities towards winning the hearts of the people.
Why the battle” matters In Nasarawa politics
Nasarawa’s electoral history shows that women’s votes are decisive. They turn out in large numbers, they mobilize at ward level, and they influence household decisions. Both camps know this.
Hence to many, the two women are performing critical roles in the build up to the 2027 elections by humanizing their husbands. Before now, ex-IGP Adamu is seen as a security expert, disciplined and distant personality but his wife is seen as helping change that image to that of an accessible and compassionate leader.
Senator Wadada on the other hand is seen as a serious politician and businessman but the intervention of his wife is currently presenting him as a family man committed to women’s welfare.
What this means for 2027
Analysts say the active involvement of the two women as frontline players in their husband’s political pursuits has changed the dynamics of the race in three ways.
“It expands the campaign beyond rallies and billboards as voters will now judge the candidates partly by what their wives are doing today; it raises the stakes for women’s issues as whoever wins will be expected to prioritize women’s economic empowerment and it signals that the 2027 election will be fought at the grassroots,” observed a political observer who does not want to be named.
The road to 2027
For now, both women insist their activities do not constitute campaign.
Our correspondent reports that no campaign structure is on ground yet but political activities have been high.
Akawu noted that the Wadada campaign structure is yet to be fully constituted while the Adamu camp is still finalizing its SDP substitution. But the wives are not waiting.
In the markets of Mararaba, the schools in Karu, and the villages of Toto, the more immediate question people say voters may ask is: which of these two women has been with us?
In that sense, the battle of the two intending first ladies in Nasarawa may well contribute to who becomes governor especially if the ex-IGP gets the SDP ticket as going by past experiences women can tilt the pendulum in political equations in Nasarawa State.
