The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawanhas submitted his presidential expression of interest and nomination forms to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma and his Yobe State counterpart Mala Buni submitted the forms on Mr. Lawan’s behalf to the party’s national organizing secretary on Friday in Abuja.
Mr. Lawan, who is from Yobe state in northeast Nigeria, joined the presidential race on Monday after some supporters acquired the N100 million forms and presented them to him.
PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively reported a week ago that he would join the race.
Mr. Lawan has been a legislator since 1999.
He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007 and has been in the Senate ever since, representing Yobe North. He was elected President of the Senate in 2019.
He is the only major challenger on the APC platform from the Northeast geopolitical zone.
Addressing the reporters, Mr. Uzodinma, a former senator, said that they helped the President of the Senate submit the form in a spirit of solidarity.
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“Today we are here in solidarity to accompany our leader, the President of the Senate to deliver his duly completed form and we have delivered the form.”
“In the police, it’s called esprit de corps,”
Mr. Lawan already has the backing of the Senate whip, Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia).
The former governor of Abia state said he backed Lawan because the northeast, like the southeast, has yet to produce a president since 1999.
Kalu had criticized Southwest and South-South politicians for not supporting the Southeast’s presidential bid.
Consequently, he withdrew from the race.