Machina denies withdrawing for Lawan, says viral letter forged

The embattled Yobe North APC senatorial candidate, Bashir Machina, has denied dumping the party as well as withdrawing his contest for the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.

It would be recalled that a letter purportedly written by Bashir Machina on the September 4, 2022 was trending on the social media that he resigned his membership of the APC and as well withdrawn from the contestiing of Yobe North senatorial district election in 2023.

It was gathered that since the outcome of the primaries, there was pressure him on him to withdraw for Lawan by the state and national headquarters of the party as well as some prominent personalities for the senate president.

Lawan, who abandoned the senatorial contest to vie for the presidential ticket of the party, lost the primaries to Bola Tinubu.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Machina, however, said that he was still in the race and did not withdraw or resign from the party.

“It is brought to my notice that some unscrupulous elements have forged my withdrawal letter out of mischief and blackmail.

“I want to state unequivocally that the purported letter was forged. I did not at anytime withdraw nor resign from my party.

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“I was shocked when I discovered that some persons concocted plans to mislead the public particularly my supporters into believing that I have withdrawn.

“The discrepancies between the two dates especially between the date of writing the purported letter and the date it was received exposed the authors’ inadequacies and lack of sufficient administrative knowledge.

“Although we suspect that this letter may be another fake news and the handiwork of enemies of peace, yet the APC’s national secretariat must speak up on it since it is carrying the official stamp of the secretariat.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I have not resigned nor withdrawn my candidature, I am in APC and have no intention to move to any party. I will (insha Allah) pursue my senatorial ambition on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

“I have already instructed my lawyers to review the fake letter and take necessary legal actions against the culprit(s),” Mr Machina said.