How Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan Disgracefully Lost His Yobe North Senate Seat

If you follow Nigerian political news, you may have heard or read the amusing stories of Nigeria's Senate President, Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan, and Hon. Bashir Sheriff Machina. Everyone is aware that Ahmed Lawan ran in and lost the presidential primary election to his political godfather, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tunubu. While Hon. Machina ran in and won the Yobe North senatorial district primary election by a wide margin. Undoubtedly, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and security personnel observed and documented these two events.

Ahmed Lawan suddenly gawked shamefully and disgracefully at the seat he had never contested during the primary election. Everyone, especially Machina's camp, assumed it was a rumor from the start. However, the rumors were true, as it turned out. Despite not being on the ballot during the primaries, Lawan wants to be re-elected as the APC's flag bearer in Yobe North. I was taken aback by the fact that a Senate President should have known the law better. His desire for power, however, has blinded him to the principles and acts that govern Nigeria's electoral processes. This was the start of his political gaffe, which cost him his respect and dignity.

So, after applying pressure on Hon. Machina to resign for him was ineffective, Lawan, using his propaganda apparatus, began penning absurd articles about Hon. Machina has resigned, etc. It was widely disseminated by the news media across the nation. Unbeknownst to the Senate President and his corrupt allies, including the All Progressive Congress National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu, Machina is not someone you can easily trick simply because you are the nation's Senate President. This led Hon. Machina to express his viewpoint on BBC Radio. He — Hon. Machina — has stated unequivocally that he has no intention of stepping down for anyone. Because that was not the reason he ran for the seat in the first place. This stern remark was the catalyst for everything you've heard or read about the political uprising in Yobe North.

Following this, the Senate President's puppet and crooked crony, Abdullahi Adamu, revealed to the BBC that Hon. Machina is not the legitimate candidate to represent the Yobe North district in the upcoming general election in 2023. He made life-threatening comments to Machina, even saying that if he — Machina — did not step down, he would rue the day he was born. As a result, Hon. Machina's name didn't appear on the list of elected Yobe state senatorial candidates submitted to the INEC. Even though the national electoral body has since refused to verify the concocted submitted list. Hearing this blunder, Hon. Machina took this obvious selfishness to court and filed a lawsuit against it.

Although the final court verdict has yet to be determined, we are confident that it will be in Hon. Machina's favor because he was the duly elected APC candidate in the Yobe North district. Here's why, INEC, security personnel, and the APC members have witnessed the primary election conducted in Gashua which Machina unequivocally won with a wide margin. Moreover, in Section 31 of the amended Electoral Act 2022, it's pretty clear that any candidate wishing to withdraw from a race must do so in "a writing signed by him and personally delivered by the candidate to the political party that nominated him for the election…" Sections 84(1) and (2), as well as Section 34 of the amended acts, have cleared the air for us. These sections alone have disqualified Ahmed Lawan and rendered his ridiculous request null and void.

Surprisingly, I thought the Senate President was well-versed in the country's constitution and laws, but he chose to follow his inept and juvenile whim. He has forgotten that we do not live in cloud cuckoo land; we live in the twenty-first century. Similarly, his blindfolded followers, who are as selfish as he is, thought it would be that simple to threaten and steal Hon. Machina's public mandate. This is why they have been fabricating lies recently; they wrote a fully grammatical blunder letter that Hon. Bashir Machina has resigned from the APC. This is a shambolic disgrace that demonstrates his lust for power.

What I don't understand is why he chose the presidency over the Yobe North senatorial district. Perhaps my answer to this could be the Senate President is looking for a fatter paycheck and boundless access to the nation's vaults. This is a clear miscalculation and poor decision-making. He thought he could get the presidency on a silver platter because his puppet and crooked crony, the APC National Chairman, tried to install him as the party's "consensus candidate," which was not agreed upon by the majority of party members. 

Furthermore, Ahmed Lawan has served in the National Assembly for over two decades, representing this region. He has reached the pinnacle of power in the Federal Republic of Nigeria's National Assembly. If he's a true gentleman, he should have accepted what happened to him and his political career. He should have remembered that the time has come for someone with new insights to contribute to making this region a better place. He tried everything he could to get the Yobe North district mandate, but his efforts were always futile. This is a travesty.

Most importantly, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) publicly stated its position on the Yobe North district dispute yesterday. Festus Okoye Esq., National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, stated in a statement released by the Commission that the Commission will never abandon its commitment to the report submitted by its officials who oversaw the Yobe North district primary election. This is a heartening remark coming from a place where the Senate President believed he could exert influence.

 

In sum, Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan has lost all of his respect and reputation in Yobe North. Because if he had accepted what befell him as a result of his self-aggrandizing theft and deceit, he would have been considered worthy of respect in the future. But he hasn't seen it from this vantage point. Instead, he has attempted every dirty technique in the book to persuade significant party stakeholders and other prominent persons both within and outside the party to put pressure on Hon. Machina to relinquish his lawful mandate, but nothing has transpired; Machina has and will always remain adamant in this quest. For Ahmed Lawan, this is both shameful and terrifying. I'm convinced beyond a reasonable doubt to say that the drama he's created will bring him public ridicule.

Finally, I want the general public to know that Hon. Bashir Sheriff Machina has not and will never change his position on this matter. On the other hand, I'd like to use this medium to urge the Senate President, his crooked cronies, and blindfolded supporters to accept what God planned for their political future. I do not doubt that Hon. Bashir Machina will deliver and solve Yobe North's pressing issues. Rest assured that he will provide a better representation that benefits everyone. At the same time, I want to encourage you to bin any political ideology that favors the very few at the top. The time is now to be fully Sheriffied!