Saraki drops presidential bid, Kwankwaso to run

•Maku to resign over gov race

•Ekweremadu goes spiritual

BARRING last minute hitches, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State who is currently reaching out to key stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will declare his bid for the presidency within the next two weeks.

In the same vein, Professor Mahmood Muhibeedeen Aliyu, a former lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria(ABU), on Saturday in Minna, the Niger state capital declared his intention to contest the presidential election on the platform of the APC.

Addressing reporters in Minna shortly after addressing party faithful in a rally, Aliyu said the time had come for the emergence of a new crop of leaders that will take the country out of the sorry state where it has found ourselves.

Meanwhile, former Kwara State Governor, Senator Bukola Saraki, yesterday suspended his bid to contest the 2015 presidential election for reasons of national unity and peace.

In a related development, Minister of Information, Labaran Maku has said he will resign on October 20,2014 in order to pursue his gubernatorial ambition in Nasarawa State.

Also, Deputy President of Senate, Ike Ekweremadu yesterday took his struggle for re-election into the National Assembly to

church, seeking spiritual help for the bid.

Kwankwaso who would be serving out his second term in office by May 29, 2015 , he would be slugging it out with two chieftains of the party - former Head of State, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), and ex- Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for the presidential ticket at the party’s primaries billed to hold on December 2 this year.

A chieftain of the APC and one of Kwankwaso’s campaign coordinators, Chief Olisaemeka Akamukali who confirmed the development dismissed the rumours making the rounds that Kwankwaso has yielded to pressures to step down for Buhari.

Akamukali who spoke to reporters in Abuja Sunday listed reasons why Kwankwaso would be better placed to fly the ticket of the party in the upcoming 2015 polls

He added;”Now in as much as we agree that Buhari is a man of integrity but you will also agree with me that age is not on his side. He is 73 going to 74 years and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar is about 70 years old. But Kwakwanso will be 58 by October 2.’

Saraki, an APC chieftain, said in a statement in Abuja that he decided to step down his ambition because, “Nigeria’s political outlook for 2015 is very complicated” pointing out that “this is the time for every patriotic politician to situate his personal ambition in the context of the country’s overall interest,”

According to him, “I don’t think our party can afford too much internal rancour going into next year’s election. I therefore think some of us need to make the sacrifice and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem of the party,” he added.

Speaking at a special thanksgiving service at the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, St. Patrick’s Parish, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Maku said he decided to sacrifice the comfort of a ministerial position at the centre to join his people and go into the wilderness ‎in Nasarawa State to stop the killings, miscarriage of justice and liberate the people in the State.

Describing himself as a typical example of person who has moved from grass to grace because of God’s favour, Maku noted that he was born to peasant farmers who did not even record the date of his birth in a village.

He said, “ It is time to make my interest ‎known by the grace of God I will sacrifice the comfort of a minister, to go into the wilderness. I just thank God for me, just pray for me because by next week, October 20, anyone in the cabinet that wants to contest election must step down because the time has come for us to do that”.

Ekweremadu who represents Enugu-West Senatorial District at the Upper House, visited the Saint Peters Parish, Nachi and the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, Ngwo in Udi Local before attending the All Saints Church, Enugu, where the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical.

Province, Most Reverend, Emmanuel Chukwuma conveyed the endorsement of

the Anglican faithful to his fourth tenure at the senate.

On Friday night, Enugu Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka had also endorsed Ekweremadu for the Senate in the 2015 general election during the weekly adoration service Chukwuma recalled that Ekweremadu deserved to be re-elected in 2015 because of his outstanding contributions to the people of Enugu State and mankind in general.