A former President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has countered a claim by a former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, that he informed him before stepping down for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the 2022 presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The former two-term governor of Kwara State made the allegation in a statement signed by his media office on Friday.
The statement, endorsed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, was Saraki’s response to the claim by Tambuwal in an interview aired on an Arise TV programme: “Untold Stories With Adesuwa.”
He said he was also surprised, like everybody present at the PDP convention, that Tambuwal returned to the podium to announce his withdrawal after he had addressed the delegates seeking their votes to fly the presidential flag in the 2023 general election.
He said: “I need to set the record straight.
“When I saw Tambuwal returning to the podium after he had earlier addressed the delegates to canvass for their votes, I wondered what was happening.
“His announcement that he had withdrawn from the race and that the delegates who were supporting him should vote for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar took me by surprise.
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“Tambuwal is my friend, but he should take responsibility for his decisions and actions.
“He never discussed withdrawal from the race with me.
“I never contemplated withdrawing my candidature from the race and had nothing to do with the decision process that led to his withdrawal in favour of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.”