The Yobe North Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bashir Machina, has insisted that he won’t give up his ticket for the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan. 

Lawan had contested for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket and lost to Bola Ahmed at the party’s primary election.

However, there have been reports that the Senate President following his loss at the primary is planning to return to the senate to continue to represent the people of Yobe North Senatorial District.

But Machina who secured the party’s senatorial ticket believes Lawan did not have a plan to return to the Senate.

He said Lawan, who has been representing the senatorial district for 15 years would not have contested the party’s presidential primary if he had the intention of retaining his seat in the Senate.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, Machina said, “The pressure is more or less speculative. There wasn’t any clear-cut person or message directly that says I should step down but from the headquarters of my party (APC), recently I was informed that if I was still in the race, I should write formally to inform the party that I am.”

Machina also said if the leadership of his party asked him to step down for Lawan, he won’t do so because the Senate President did not participate in the primary. 

“I won’t step down because Ahmad Lawan did not contest for the Senate. Of course, it is a known fact that Ahmad Lawan contested for president and lost. And when I contested for Senate, Lawan did not participate (in the primary) or did not contest (for Senate). So, I don’t think that may be in any way an issue,” he said.

In another interview with Leadership, the candidate maintained that Lawan had no right to the ticket.

He said that he wanted to go to the Senate to improve on Lawan’s performance, adding that he might be the next Senate President.

“We were lucky that our senator became the Senate President. By becoming the Senate President there’s nothing… Any Senator can be the Senate President. I may likely be the next Senate President. Who knows? I was in the National Assembly long before Ahmad,” said Machina who was first elected a Federal Lawmaker in 1990". Machina said. 

Machina explained that there’s nowhere in the APC guidelines that say the ticket should at any time be given to someone that didn’t participate in the primary.

He further said he has written to the APC to inform the party that he is in the race and he's not willing to give up his ticket.