“Home of Solid Minerals”
- Capital
- Lafia
- Created
- 1 October 1996
- Population
- 2,886,000 2022 estimate
- LGAs
- 13
His Excellency
Abdullahi Audu Sule
Executive Governor of Nasarawa State
All Progressives Congress North-Central
- In office since
- 29 May 2019
- Term
- 2nd term
- Term ends
- May 2027
- Deputy
- Emmanuel Akabe
Biography
Abdullahi Audu Sule (born 26 December 1959) is a Nigerian engineer, businessman and politician who has served as Governor of Nasarawa State since 29 May 2019. Born in the Akwanga area, he studied in Nasarawa and Plateau before winning a scholarship to Indiana State University in the United States, where he obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in technology.
His private-sector career spanned manufacturing in Nigeria and the US, the downstream oil sector (Sadiq Petroleum and African Petroleum Plc) and the sugar industry as managing director of Dangote Sugar Refinery.
He won the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in October 2018 and the March 2019 election, and was re-elected in March 2023, with Emmanuel Akabe as deputy governor in both terms. His administration has focused on attracting investment into the state's mineral sector, especially lithium, as well as roads, markets and agriculture. Constitutionally barred from a third term, he sought the APC ticket for the Nasarawa North senatorial seat in 2026.
Career before office
After returning from the United States in 1985 Sule worked as a production engineer at the Jos Steel Rolling Mill, then spent several years with engineering and manufacturing firms in the US. He co-founded Sadiq Petroleum Nigeria Limited in 2000, became chief executive of African Petroleum (AP) Plc in 2001, and later served as managing director of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc before entering politics in 2018.
Key initiatives in office
- Attracted Chinese-backed lithium processing plants to the state, positioning Nasarawa as Nigeria's main lithium processing hub
- Completed about 639 km of roads, with flyover and underpass projects in Keffi and Akwanga (reported 2026)
- Built modern markets in several LGAs including Awe, Wamba, Nasarawa, Toto and Doma
- Ranked 10th of 37 in the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business report
- Cultivated 3,300 hectares under a 10,000-hectare state agricultural development project
- Initiated the NIPR University of Public Relations and Leadership project in the state
Education
- Roman Catholic Mission Primary School, Gudi Station
- Government Technical College, Bukuru
- Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin Ladi (1980)
- B.Sc. Mechanical Technology and M.Sc. Industrial Technology, Indiana State University, USA
Nasarawa State at a glance
North-Central
Other governors in the zone
Benue State
Hyacinth Iormem Alia
Kogi State
Ahmed Usman Ododo
Kwara State
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq
Niger State