News

Lawan in dilemma as APC senatorial candidate refuses to step down

There are strong indications that Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, may not return to Senate in 2023 as the winner of the Yobe North APC senatorial primary election, Bashir Machina, reportedly refused to step down for him.

Lawan, it was gathered, had considered the senatorial ticket of the party as an alternative to the presidential ticket.

The Senate President came fourth in the APC presidential primaries held at Eagle Square in Abuja last week with 152 votes.

The presidential primary election was won by the party’s national leader, Bola Tinubu.

Lawan has been in the National Assembly since 1999, having spent 12 years in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate in 2007.

It was however, learnt that Lawan has since been mounting pressure on the presidency to get back his senatorial ticket after Machina refused to step down for him.

All efforts by Lawan’s loyalists to convince Machina to step down for the Senate President were said to have failed as the senatorial candidate insisted that he won’t withdraw.

READ ALSO: APC primaries: Why I contested against Tinubu — Lawan

Machina, who was the sole candidate, had polled 289 votes in senatorial primaries held in Gashua, Yobe State on May 28.

According to sources, Lawan, reached out to the APC National Vice Chairman, North East, Mustapha Salihu, to “forcefully take over” the senatorial ticket from Machina.

Reacting to the allegations, Salihu, said he never interfered in the local party decisions in Yobe State.

He said: “I don’t interfere with local party arrangement in states. Yobe has its own unique way of primaries, which is a general consensus.

“All aspirants who obtained the party’s nomination forms nationwide have filled the withdrawal forms, which is a clear consent to withdraw in case of any superior interest, and with the consent of the party stakeholders in the state.

“I’m aware that it is a national party policy for aspirants who lost the presidential ticket to return to their seats in the Senate. You can see Godswill Akpabio has already reclaimed his senatorial ticket.”

The Star

Segun Ojo

Recent Posts

Dangote unveils hotline to report MRS stations selling PMS above ₦739

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has introduced a dedicated hotline for Nigerians to report any MRS Oil…

2 minutes ago

FG approves mandatory drug test for public service job applicants

The Federal Government has approved the introduction of mandatory pre-employment drug testing for prospective applicants…

50 minutes ago

Christmas: Glo encourages Nigerians to live Christ’s teachings

Nigeria’s technology and telecommunications company, Globacom, has conveyed warm Christmas greetings to Christians in Nigeria…

53 minutes ago

Yuletide: FCTA task force storms motor parks in crackdown on criminals

As part of efforts to ensure a safe and secure yuletide season, Operation Sweep, a…

2 hours ago

Uba Sani signs ₦985.9bn 2026 budget, allocates 25% to education

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has signed the 2026 Appropriation Bill into law, with education…

2 hours ago

Court sends 2 siblings to prison for kidnapping 23-year-old woman

A Magistrates’ Court in the Ile-Ife area of Osun State has remanded two siblings for…

3 hours ago

This website uses cookies.