Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has identified the politicisation of security challenges as a major obstacle to lasting peace in the North Central region, calling on leaders at all levels to separate governance from politics to achieve sustainable solutions.
Governor Sule made the call at the 2026 North Central Regional Security Summit, held at the New Banquet Hall, Government House, Makurdi, Benue State.
The summit, convened by the Federal Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North Central), has the theme “Collaborative Approach to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability”.
According to him, while various presentations at the summit have adequately addressed several dimensions of the security challenges facing the region, the critical issue of politics has been conspicuously overlooked.
He stressed that until leaders find a way to separate governance from politics, the region would continue to go in circles without achieving lasting solutions.
Governor Sule emphasised the need for mutual respect between elders and those in authority, noting that such respect was fundamental to building the trust required for effective collaboration across state boundaries.
He recounted his personal experience in 2019 when he reached out to the then governor of Benue State, despite political differences, to establish a working relationship between Nasarawa and Benue states, noting that this collaboration helped to subdue security challenges between the two states until 2023, when the problems resurfaced.
Sule further noted that criminal elements often exploited disagreements among political leaders to perpetrate their activities, and urged governors and political titans in the region to resolve their differences in the interest of peace and security.
He maintained that sustainable solutions to the region’s security challenges could only be achieved when political leaders set aside their differences and work collectively towards common goals.
The governor’s position aligned with the concerns raised by other speakers at the summit.
The host governor, Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, had earlier highlighted the issue of trust as a critical factor in resolving the region’s security challenges.
In his keynote address, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, charged participants to move beyond deliberations to produce clear and practical recommendations with identified owners, defined timelines, and measurable outcomes.
The President directed the Minister of Defence to transmit the outcomes of the summit to him and to report on their implementation.
He further urged all stakeholders to speak the truth, including truths that may be uncomfortable for those in government to hear.
The Minister of Defence and Convener of the summit, General Christopher Musa (retd.), in his opening remarks, noted that the summit provides an opportunity to consider the particular security realities of the North Central and develop responses that reflect those realities.
He called for honesty and truthfulness in deliberations, stressing that the armed forces and security agencies cannot solve the challenges alone.
The minister also observed that when the North Central is peaceful, the benefits extend beyond its geographical boundaries, and when insecurity persists, its consequences are felt across the country.
The summit, which brought together governors, traditional rulers, religious leaders, security agencies, civil society organisations, the private sector, women, and youth, was part of a series of regional security engagements being coordinated by the Federal Government under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
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