From Victor Osula, Abuja
The winner of Yobe North All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries, Bashir Machina has baulked the prevailing tradition whereby candidates are used by fall guys to stand in for those who had pursued presidential ambition and failed by refusing to take a bow for the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan. Lawa was a an aspirant in the just concluded presidential primary of the governing APC, held on June 8 at Eagles Square, Abuja.
He came a distant fourth after former Lagos Governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the winner and second and third runners up, former Minister of Transportation, Chbuike Amaechi, VP Yemi Osinbajo.
The president of the Senate was initially announced by the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu as the consensus candidate of the party, but 13 Northern governors kicked against the idea of retaining power in the North and arm-twisted President Buhari to allow the all aspirants to contest in the primary.
All effort by Mr Lawan’s cronies to convince Mr Machina to step down for the president of the Senate failed as the senatorial candidate insisted that he won’t withdraw.
Those who had passed the test after failing in their presidential bids are Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who steeped down for the eventual winner of the primary, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauch state who contested and failed in the PDP presidential primary and former Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio who steeped down for Tinubu during the APC convention. While Tambuwal and Akpabio had gone back to clinch their respective party’ santorial tickets from their fall guys, Governor Mohammed regained his governorship ticket from his Deputy who had fronted for him.
