2027: Ovie Defends Ombugadu’s Political Strength, Urges Focus on Ideas

By David Odama

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, Abuga Ovie, has described the Ombugadu name as a political brand, saying its popularity and wide acceptance have made David Emmanuel Ombugadu a major force in the state’s political landscape.

Ovie stated this in an interview while reacting to what he described as attempts by some political actors to undermine the political value of the name.

According to him, what began as opposition from some of the PDP governorship candidate’s biological brothers and people he described as fathers and uncles who betrayed him for personal political interests has now assumed a wider dimension, with political parties allegedly joining the battle against him.

He said the latest development involved an attempt to weaken the political significance of the name by presenting another person with the same surname, describing it as an indication of the lengths some political actors were willing to go to frustrate the PDP governorship candidate.

“Ombugadu is a brand, not a title. People are not fools. They know their own. You cannot simply bring another person bearing Ombugadu and expect the people to forget the political identity that Emmanuel Ombugadu built over the years,” he said.

Ovie further alleged that a former governor was working to introduce a political associate who had served as Accountant-General of Nasarawa State into the political equation, with the objective, he claimed, of destabilising the PDP and weakening its chances by ensuring that the party fields a less competitive candidate in 2027.

“The plan, as we understand it, is to destabilise the PDP and make sure the party presents a weak candidate, thereby creating an advantage for the former governor’s preferred candidate. But all those efforts have proved abortive because the national leadership of the PDP stood its ground and refused to lose its best bet for the 2027 governorship election,” Ovie said.

The PDP chieftain said the decision of the national leadership to retain Ombugadu demonstrated the confidence the party had in his capacity to win the governorship election, despite what he described as efforts by some political actors to frustrate his ambition.

Ovie urged political parties and their leaders to resolve their internal differences rather than concentrate their efforts on the PDP candidate, whom he compared to David in the Bible, saying he had remained focused despite betrayal and opposition from people close to him.

“Ombugadu is like David in the Bible. Even when his brothers forsook him, he remained focused. Today, despite the people who have betrayed him, he remains focused and has a blueprint that can rescue Nasarawa State,” he said.

He advised political parties to concentrate on presenting their programmes and convincing voters about how they intend to address the challenges confronting the state, rather than expending their energy on attempts to stop the PDP candidate.

“Political parties should fix their problems instead of wasting their strength fighting Ombugadu.

Let everybody bring their blueprint before the people and explain what they intend to do for Nasarawa State,” he said.
Ovie maintained that the 2027 election should be about ideas, competence and the future of Nasarawa State, rather than attempts to manipulate political structures or undermine individuals perceived to enjoy strong grassroots support.

He urged the people of the state, particularly members of the Eggon community, to remain politically vigilant and resist what he described as efforts to make them settle for less, insisting that voters would ultimately determine who enjoys their confidence at the polls.