Nasarawa gov aspirant Liman insists he won’t step down

Ahead of the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress, a leading governorship aspirant in Nasarawa State and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Hassan Liman, has said he will not step down for any other aspirant if approached by Governor Abdullahi Sule or other stakeholders in the state.

Liman stated this on Sunday in Lafia, the state capital, while responding to questions from journalists on his possible withdrawal from the race, as some other aspirants have stepped down to declare support for the governor’s preferred aspirant, Aliyu Wadada.

Liman was at the APC state headquarters to meet with party executives on the need to ensure free, fair and credible primaries scheduled for Thursday.

Liman said he would abide by the party’s guidelines during the primary election to ensure a peaceful and seamless process.

According to him, the governor, being a democrat, would not pressure him to withdraw from the governorship race, adding that even if such a move were made, he would decline.

He said, “Governor Sule is a democrat. I believe that he will not ask anyone to step down.

“As far as I am concerned, he has said time and time again that everyone who has purchased a form has the right to contest, and we are going to contest.

“So, the question of stepping down does not arise. I am not stepping down for anyone. No one has approached me to step down, and I am not going to step down because that issue is not even on the table.”

Speaking on the APC ahead of the primaries and general elections, Liman said there was no division within the party.

According to him, the governor has the constitutional right to express a preference for a successor, but that does not eliminate the need for a primary election.

“I was one of the contestants at that time, and Governor Abdullahi Sule won the election.

“But what I am saying is that every person has a fundamental right, and our Electoral Act and party constitution do not say that a candidate must come from a particular part of the state.

“So, as a party, each and every one of us has the right to contest the election, and that is exactly what we are doing. There is no division in our party,” Liman said.