The gubernatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Gombe State, Prof Rufai Ahmed Alkali and his running mate, Naomi Maiguwa have endorsed the All Progressives Congress (APC) party’s candidate, Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
LEADERSHIP recalled that SDP due to a series of unresolved cases between major contenders of the presidential candidature led to the inability of the party to field a presidential candidate under its platform. The Party was left with no other option than to reach a working agreement with the APC and endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for his second term.
A statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Abuja yesterday, Prof. Alkali said the difficulties he experienced in resolving the party issues at the national level which left him with very limited time to continue with robust and effective statewide campaigns.
In line with President Muhammadu Buhari statement during his 2019 Presidential Campaign that every Nigerian has a right to vote for any candidate of his choice based on his perception, Prof. Alkali acknowledged the fact that all citizens of Gombe State, including members of our SDP family in Gombe State, are at liberty to choose any gubernatorial candidate they so desire in any political party during the forthcoming Governorship elections.
Prof. Alkali also congratulates President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo on their well-deserved victory and convey its special gratitude to all its party members and the good people of Gombe State for coming out en masse to vote for them.
The statement reads in part: ‘’For those of us in the New Political Order Group who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in March 2018 and joined forces with the SDP, nothing has changed in the PDP to warrant us to make a U-Turn now. If anything else, despite all the challenges SDP is facing today, events in the last one year only further confirmed and vindicated to us that our decision to leave the PDP at that time was both timely and appropriate and in the overall interest of deepening democracy and safeguarding the future of our country.
‘’That our decision to endorse and give support to Inuwa Yahaya of the APC is also a further process of step down of the accord already taken at the National level between our two great parties, the SDP and the APC. Although under the initial accord, it did not include candidates for National Assembly, Governorship and Houses of Assembly.’’
