By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami, has officially indicated his interest to run for the office of the governor of Kebbi State.
The Minister will be running on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At an interactive session with APC stakeholders in Birnin Kebbi, Mr Malami said he accepted to contest to be the next governor of the state after he was pressured by stakeholders in the state.
The Minister said “Since you want me to contest the governorship position of the state, I hereby accept your demand since you want me to do so.
“People from the state have been pressurising me to contest the governorship position in 2023.”
“Going by my proper upbringing as the son of an Islamic teacher, I will not show interest to contest for any position or judge myself qualified for any position except the people of the state want me to.
“I have contributed a lot to the country and also to the state in areas of employment generation, fight against poverty, agricultural revolution and women empowerment,” he said.
“We pray for Allah’s guidance and assistance and may the answer to your demands be the continuous development of the state,” he added.
The current governor of the state, Mr Atiku Bagudu, urged party leaders not to relent in pursuing a resolution to bring aggrieved members back into the APC fold.
He called on the youth to emulate the humility of Malami as the son of an Islamic teacher.
The Minister had been rumoured several times to harbour presidential, vice presidential and governorship ambitions but with many players gunning for the apex position, the AGF is settling for the Birnin Kebbi seat.
His declaration to run for the governorship position in the state now has put paid to all insinuations and rumours of his ambition for 2023.
He is seeking to succeed the current governor, Mr Bagudu, who is in his second term as governor.
It is, however, not clear if he will resign his position despite calls from many quarters for present Ministers running for office to leave their current positions.
