Salihu Mustapha, former North-East Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has stepped down from the party’s Adamawa governorship contest and endorsed Ahmed Galadima as his preferred candidate.
Mustapha announced his withdrawal in a statement issued on Wednesday through his media aide, Ahmed Sajoh, noting that the decision followed directives from the party’s national leadership.
He explained that his withdrawal was in favour of Ahmed Galadima, a former Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF), in line with party direction ahead of the elections.
Shortly after stepping down, Mustapha hosted Galadima and members of his campaign team at his residence in Dougire, where both politicians pledged continued cooperation for the success of the APC.
Galadima expressed appreciation for Mustapha’s decision, describing it as a sacrifice for the unity and progress of the party, and assured that he would work closely with party leaders to strengthen the APC’s chances in the election.
Mustapha also revealed that he would now focus on contesting the APC ticket for Adamawa Central Senatorial District. The party had earlier postponed the senatorial primary in the district due to logistical issues.
In a related development, another APC governorship aspirant in Adamawa, Joel Madaki, also recently withdrew from the race and endorsed Abdulrahman Haske.
