An aspirant for the Niger South senatorial ticket on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr Mohammed Santuraki has withdrawn from the race.
Santuraki, who is the Pro-Chancellor of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, made this known in a statement on Friday in Minna.
He said that the decision was taken after circumstances on the ground showed that the values he had dreamed of bringing into party politics in the country was not ripe.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the election in the zone was declared inconclusive and a rerun ordered in five out of the eight Local Government Areas where elections were held on Oct. 2.
”My candidacy for the Senatorial seat of Niger South is anchored on three values that drive purposeful leadership, namely; Capacity, Experience and Integrity. These are the kinds of values on which electoral contests are usually based in a democracy.
”Unfortunately, from our performance reportedly recorded in the results from only the 3 Local Government Areas where elections purportedly held, it would appear that the principles on which we campaigned were not sufficient in our kind of democracy,’’ he said.
Santuraki said that he has submitted his letter of withdrawal to the office of Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger as well as notified his supporters across the area councils.
He added that he remained a loyal party member and would work with any aspirant that emerged the winner after the rerun.
‘’I shall remain a member of the party, and look forward to working with whoever the Party bestows as the eventual winner of the Senatorial primary elections and other stakeholders towards ensuring success for our Party at the General Elections.’’
Santuraki is a former Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture, and before then, Managing Director of FBN Mortgages Limited.
He is a seasoned banker with about 30 years of diversified experience in Nigeria’s financial services sector ranging from agricultural development finance through investment commercial banking to mortgage banking. (NAN)
