After consulting with stakeholders across the country, The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, finally dropped his bid for the presidency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he did that based for the cohesion and unity of the APC.

Tambuwal, in the past months, had been contemplating with contesting for either the presidency or the governorship post in Sokoto.

The Speaker said he reached the decision to distance himself from the presidential contest after concluding wider consultations with elders of the APC and taking into consideration the vastness of the country’s political space.

“Having consulted widely, taking into consideration the concerns of some elders of the party, I have decided to suspend my participation in the presidential contest for now.

“I have done so as a sacrifice for the cohesion and unity of the APC. I am suspending my participation in the presidential race for now because I do not have any inordinate ambition to occupy any office.

“Nigeria is a country too great to sacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition. What anyone becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God gives power to whoever he pleases,” Tambuwal said.

The Speaker in his speech when he picked the presidential form pledged his loyalty to the APC, former military Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Governors Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Rochas Okorocha, and Mr. Sam Ndah- Isaiah, all of whom he described as “eminently qualified” to run for the position of president. Stating that he was  fully prepared, ready, willing, determined, available and armed with the requisite plans, programmes and ability to undertake the great mission of rescuing the country from the clutches of institutionalised corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness” among others, he would plough his energy into supporting the APC.