Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, one of the National chairmanship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has withdrawn from the race.
Shinkafi gave this indication at a Press Conference on Monday evening in Gusau, Zamfara.
He said that his decision was taken to respect party supremacy as the post of National Chairman had been zoned to the North Central geopolitical zone.
He said: ”Zamfara is not among the states in the North Central, therefore, I cannot proceed with the contest, considering the fact that the party is supreme.
“I know what is called party supremacy, I know what is called party leadership, and also know what we call respect for the stakeholders.
”And since the party has taken a decision, I have no objection to their decision.”
Shinkafi also said that he withdrew from the race as a mark of respect for the President.
He, however, appealed to the stakeholders in the contest to ”align themselves with the party’s decision to stand strong and united ahead of the 2023 general elections”.
Shinkafi applauded all APC Governors, Ministers, the Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives for their support.
He thanked his coordinators across all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for their efforts in supporting his erstwhile candidature.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC National Convention is slated for Saturday, to elect new national executives to manage the party’s affairs.
The party is currently being managed by a Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
No fewer than seven aspirants had purchased the APC Expression of Interest and Nomination forms at the cost of N20 million each, striving to clinch the coveted national chairmanship position.
Former Zamfara Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, is among the seven aspirants.
The Screening Committee, headed by Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State, is expected to commence the screening of all the aspirants on Tuesday in Abuja.
