Adedokun Waliyu 
A group made up of members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe State referring to itself as Yobe APC Zone C Concerned Stakeholders has pledged its support for the Yobe North senatorial candidate of the party, Bashir Machina.
The endorsement is coming less than a week after another group of supporters had staged a rally at Gashua, the hometown of the senate president, Ahmad Lawan, in support of Mr Machina
Mr Lawan is alleged to be making moves within the party hierarchy to have him replace Mr Machina as the party’s representative for the senatorial district in next year’s National Assembly election.
The group lauded the doggedness of Mr Machina for refusing to step down for Mr Lawan.
The leader of the group Abba Maina Yusafari in a statement said Mr Lawan should be grateful to the people of the district for electing him making him their representative for 23 years. He, however, said it is undemocratic for Mr Lawan to be allegedly plotting to replace Mr Machina who won the primary election.
“We urge our brother, Dr Ahmad Lawan at this juncture to express thanks to the good people of Zone C for the support he has experienced from them since the revival of democracy in Nigeria in 1999 and not to be dragging a senate seat that he abandoned for an eye for the presidency. A piece of cake can’t be eaten twice in the same sitting,” the statement said.
The group said there are six local governments in the senatorial zone and Bade, Mr Lawan’s local government of origin, has held on to the senatorial position since 2007 and that it is time to allow someone from another local government to represent the district.
“Gentlemen of the Press, we want to use this opportunity to present this Press Release free of any sentiment but with every sense of duty for the development and unity of our political landscape, Zone C Senatorial District.
“For keen observers of Yobe politics, no one is blind to the fact that our senatorial zone has enjoyed relative political peace and stability both at the House of Representatives and even more at the senate with our brother, The Senate President, Dr Ahmed Lawan been in the saddle for a record three times. By the end of 2023, our beloved brother Sen. Ahmed Lawan will be spending 24 years at the National Assembly ie 16 years as a senator and 8 years as a member of the House of Representative.
