A member of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Buba (APC, Adamawa) has formally withdrawn from contesting the position of the 9th Speaker of the House.It would be recalled that The Nation on Sunday exclusively reported withdrawal of Buba and three others to support Gbajabiamila, the partys anointed candidate for the position.Buba said his withdrawal from the race was a personal conviction with the choice of the All Progressives Party (APC) that zoned the position to the Southwest, with Femi Gbajabiamila as the candidate.The lawmaker, who is a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Party, said his decision was voluntary and not induced by the Party.While speaking in his National Assembly office on Monday in Abuja, Buba, said issues of fairness in the distribution of offices should not be contentious because there are many that can go round.He said: Encouraged by the support of many of our colleagues out there, I have in the last two months applied myself and other personal resources to the burning desire to serve our people through my response to what I have always seen as Call to Higher Service.Today, however, in the face of several political dynamics and realities that shape our existence as a nation of diverse regions and peoples, l have the honour and humility to announce to you all, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, that I am discontinuing my quest for Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives.This is democracy, no party, or let me be specific, the APC do not have the power to intimidate or force any member over any decision.This is entirely my personal decision. In reaching the above decision, as a loyal Party man, who by the grace of God is a member of the Partys National Executive Committee (NEC), too, I have sought to totally defer to the position of our great Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the decision of our National Leaders, who, in their wisdom, have pointed the way to go with regards to the zoning of various national leadership positions in the Party.Read Also:Speakership: Gbajabiamilas camp woos Dogara, Governors, other contestantsFurthermore, as a loyal compatriot of the Northeast geo-political zone to which the position of President of the Senate has been zoned, my personal ambition to be Speaker of the House, a lower office in comparison, as it were, must be subsumed in the overriding larger interest of our zone.Given the aforestated reasons, therefore, I wish to enjoin all our supporters to understand the whys and wherefores of our decision and I call on them to join hands with us to build an all-inclusive leadership structure across the country Where all perceived interests, including ethnicity, regionality, religion, gender and their like will always receive due consideration in the decision-making process.In the next few days, we shall be dismantling our campaign structure and aligning it completely with the choices our Party has made. I crave your indulgence and understanding to come along with me in this new pursuit in order to replicate for our new structure all the magic you displayed to keep our campaigns on the lips of many. With God on our side, victory shall be ours at last.
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