Former governor of Kebbi State and the senator representing the central senatorial district if the state in the National Assembly, Adamu Aliero on Saturday abandoned the race to seek the ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC reelection in the 2023 election.
Aliero announced his decision to drop out of the race hours before the kick off of the primary for the senatorial ticket in Birni Kebbi, state capital in a statement personally signed.
He said he is withdrawing from the primaries because it would be patently fraudulent, accusing Governor Atiku Bagudu of manipulating the process with handpicking of his loyalists as delegates.
Aliero said contrary to the stipulations in the amended constitution of APC that delegates for indirect primaries are to be democratically elected for the election of party candidates, Bagudu has been involved in the fraudulent act of composing the list of delegates for all the primaries in the state.
The lawmaker said: “I write to convey my decision to withdraw my intention to participate in the scheduled Kebbi Central Senatorial Primaries of APC.
“You will recall how I put out myself for the peace and harmony of the party not just in Kebbi but in many states across the country.
You are therefore, in a position to vouch that I will not withdraw my participation in the primaries or any activity of the party if I do not have cogent or compelling reasons to do so.
“The scheduled primaries in the state would be symbolic and patently fraudulent, because the delegate list comprised of persons handpicked by the State Governor to do his bidding.”
The lawmaker continued: “You are aware that the amended constitution of our party prescribes that delegates for indirect primaries are to be democratically elected for the election of party candidates.
“It is therefore, alarming for the governor to get away with the fraudulent act of composing the list of delegates for all the primaries in the state.
“I have endured the provocation and antics of the governor in the state beyond measure. I must, in that sense express my appreciation for your interventions and efforts in containing the excesses of the governor.”
Aliero recalled that he had, for a long time ceased to be a “lone ranger” who could take independent decisions.
He, however, “remained a rallying point and a leader who must at all times be subjected to, and ready to defend the interest of those who have reposed their trust in him”.
He said his withdrawal would enable him to confer with his people and political associates on the next line of action. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
