Aminu Tambuwal, speaker, House of Representatives, Tuesday, formally announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tambuwal, in a statement titled “My political future” issued last night, lamented the scourge of poverty across the country during his consultation across 300 federal constituencies of the federation.
He said: “I have decided to suspend my participation in the presidential contest for now. I have done so as a sacrifice for the cohesion and unity of the APC.
“I am suspending my participation in the presidential race for now because I do not have any inordinate ambition to occupy any office. Nigeria is a country too great to sacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition.
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“What any one becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God gives power to whoever he pleases.”
Tambuwal said he came into the APC to enhance and build, and that in the interest of Nigeria and of the APC, and indeed, in the overriding national interest, he was withdrawing from the presidential race.
He added, “It has not been easy coming to this decision and I very well understand the frustration, disappointment and disbelief of many who have committed so much to the project, including sacrificing not only their physical, financial and intellectual resources but indeed their personal ambitions in the 2015 electoral contest.”
On his political future, Tambuwal said: “On my part and with the greatest sense of modesty and responsibility, I wish to assure Nigerians that I am fully prepared, ready, willing, determined, available and armed with the requisite plans, programmes and ability, to undertake the great mission of rescuing our dear country from the clutches of institutionalised corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness.
“I am prepared for the great task of rescuing Nigeria from the security problems, the scandalous youth unemployment, and the economic and social malaise that plague her.
“Given the opportunity, ours would be a clean, corrupt-free, competent and purposeful government: to deal with the inexplicable paradoxes that have held us hostage for over a hundred years: the paradox of ever-growing abject poverty in the midst of plenty; the paradox of ever growing menace of corruption in the face of the collective capacity of Nigerians to eradicate same, the paradox of decaying infrastructure, especially epileptic power supply in the face of abundant natural resources”
“The problems I speak about are real and glaring. Over the past three and a half years of presiding over 359 equals, I often had occasion to discuss peculiar constituency problems with my colleagues but most importantly I have visited over 300 Federal constituencies across the country and seen for myself abject poverty of our people particularly the majority of the population that reside in the rural areas, I have experienced, first hand, total absence of essential social facilities and decaying infrastructure, where they exist at all, and observed hopelessness in the eyes of millions of citizens. I deeply feel the pulse of dejection of our people.
“I am convinced that with the progressive spirit and teamwork these objectives are attainable under an All Progressive Congress (APC) administration.
“I have carefully considered the concerns expressed by some of our leaders, whom I deeply respect and whose support and counsel I enjoy, to the effect that my entry into the presidential race at this point may necessitate having to rework some equations on the political chessboard of the party,” he noted.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA
