By Muhammad Lawal
Gov. Atiku Bagudu has said he is ready to relinquish the All Progressives Congress ticket for Kebbi Central senatorial zone to Senator Adamu Aliero, the incumbent lawmaker representing the area at the National Assembly if there is need to do so.
The Kebbi State Governor spoke after he was declared the winner of the APC Kebbi Central Senatorial ticket for APC at the primary election result held at Haliru Abdu Secretariat, Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Sen. Adamu Aliero, a strong contender of the ticket withdrew from the race some hours to the commencement of the primary election.
He alleged that the Kebbi State Governor had manipulated the list of delegates that will vote at the primary for his advantage
Nevertheless, the primary went ahead with Bagudu polling 455 votes to emerge the winner, according to the Returning Officer for the election, Kelechi Njoku.
She said: “On behalf of the Kebbi Central Senatorial Committee from Abuja, I hereby declare Gov. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu as the winner of the primary election held in Birnin Kebbi today, May 28 having scored the highest number of votes.”
Njoku expressed satisfaction with the level of decorum exhibited by the delegates, party stakeholders and other party loyalists.
In his acceptance speech, Bagudu thanked the committee, stakeholders and all other party loyalists for their support and cooperation that led to a successful primaries in the state.
While promising to ensure quality representation, Bagudu urged politician to always accept election results in good faith, advising that they should remember that power only comes from Almighty God.
Bagudu recalled that in 2011, he won the PDP ticket for Kebbi Central Senatorial seat but in the interest of peace and unity he relinquished the mandate to Sen. Adumu Aliero, assuring, “If there is need for that today, I am ready to do the same thing in this present situation.”