The Yobe North Senatorial Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bashir Machina has alleged a plot by the leadership of the ruling party to replace him with Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
Int his distress message to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) he is alleging a plot to forge his signature on a letter to indicate that he has voluntarily withdrawn from the 2023 Senatorial election.
Machina contested the APC’s senatorial primary election, which he won, while Lawan, who represents Yobe North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, opted to contest the presidential primary he lost, along with others, to former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
There are allegations that those a senator plotted with to have the senatorial seat secured for him, should he lose his push for a higher office, worked against him to facilitate the emergence of Machina.
“It is all a dirty game and we don’t even know all the details,” a source in the National Assembly said.
However, Machina in a Tuesday statement by his campaign office, suggested his signature has been forged onto a letter to be forwarded to INEC for his replacement.
A statement by the campaign organisation’s spokesperson, Husaini Isah, explained that some elements within the party, “who are slaves to corruption and criminality are hell-bent on manipulating the candidacy of the senatorial district.”
It adds: “Information available to the Bashir Machina Campaign Organisation has it that some individuals have entered an unholy alliance with some compromised leaders to forge the withdrawal letter of Yobe North APC Senatorial Candidate, Hon Bashir Machina, even after communicating formally to the Party leadership affirming his position not to step-down for anybody
“It is sad and indeed unfortunate that after the alarm raised by the Campaign Organisation exposing a sinister plot to subvert the will of the people of Yobe North, some mischievous elements are hell-bent and determined to carry out their criminal agenda.
“It has eventually come to light in this untidy business of a forged withdrawal letter, that some compromised leaders have become slaves to corruption and criminality in Nigeria.”
“Facts affirming our earlier accusation that some individuals were trying to forge the withdrawal letter of Bashir Machina have emerged, and as a Campaign Organisation, we want to make it abundantly clear that any withdrawal letter carrying the signature of our candidate is a forged document and does not emanate from him.
“We wonder how a sane person could delve into this embarrassing action which is criminal in nature and has the potential of soiling the reputation of the APC as a party that stands for justice
“We want to reiterate that Bashir Machina’s letter dated 13th June which was sent to the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, still stands and any attempt to forge his withdrawal letter would be treated as a pure criminal offence irrespective of the calibre of person(s) involved.”
