By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse
Th Jigawa state governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar and presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has shelved his presidential ambition as he has stepped down for the former minister of transport, another presidential aspirant Chief Rotimi Amaechi.
The governor made the disclosure while receiving the former minister who paid him a courtesy visit during his nation wide tour to meet with APC delegates ahead of the presidential primary election billed for the 30 of this month.
Governor Badaru stated that he will not contest against him. “I will not contest against my friend. I repeat I will not contest against my friend and brother”.
He added that they are both sons of Baba Buhari “So we brothers with the same mission can not run against each other.
The governor told the delegates in the state “please delegates if you look at me, look at Rotimi Amaechi, me and him are the same”
Badaru added that “I assure you that if Amaechi will run I will not run. And if I will run Amaechi will not run. Non of us will contest against the other”.
Speaking earlier, the former minister, appealed to the APC delegates to vote for him because of his competence and pan Nigerian outlook.
He challenged the delegates not to vote for him because he is a southerner or northerner but because he is the only Nigerian among all the contestants for the presidency that have both the legislative and executive experiences, saying he understands Nigeria better.
He said, “Judge me by past records, not what people think and say I am. I have to be the president of Nigeria because of trajectory.”
According to Amaechi, it would not be fair for the north to abandon the south-south in it’s hours of need because of the long standing political relationship between the two regions.
He was accompanied on the visit by a large crowd of followers including a former Chief of Army Staff and Nigerian ambassador to Benin Republic, Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, a former Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba among others.