Barely a day to the inauguration and election of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly, one of the major contenders for the position of Senate President, Senator Ali Ndume has vowed not to step down for Sen. Ahmed Lawan who had since been endorsed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking to Dailytrust in Abuja on Sunday, Ndume said it was too late for him to withdraw from the race, stressing that doing so would be disastrous to his political career.
“Stepping down at this period will be disastrous to my political career and it’s not necessary because there’s no one and convincing reason for me to step down.
“Why are you asking whether I’ve withdrawn or not? I’ve been in the race ab initio; Goje did not at any time formally announce that he was contesting for the Senate presidency.
“It’s too late for me to withdraw; we’ve passed that level because there’s no reason for that. After all, give me one reason why I should withdraw.”
Speaking on whether he would meet with Buhari if summoned, Ndume said
“If Mr President asks me to meet him is a different matter. He’s my leader, I will honor the invitation but stepping down is another thing. If he calls me anytime, I will go and discuss with him, but the issue of Senate presidency is an entirely different thing.
“I do visit the president even without invitation, but stepping down at this period will be disastrous to my political career and it’s not necessary because there’s no one and convincing reason for me to step down.”
