Ahmad Lawan, Nigeria’s Senate president, has said his victory and ability to retain the Yobe North Senatorial seat is attributed to his constituents and not his efforts alone.
The Senate president disclosed that he campaigned for only two days before the election, but the people of his constituents made a lot of sacrifices for him to make him victorious in the race.
Narrating his journey to regaining the seat, Lawan said his constituents killed cows, camels and also fasted for him to regain the seat.
According to him, he emerged the winner because God looked at the sacrifices and the heart of the innocent people to give him victory as he was not ready to fight for the seat of his constituents and his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Recall that the Supreme Court in a judgement, on February 6, affirmed Lawan as the APC senatorial candidate for Yobe north instead of Bashir Machina who won the party ticket at the May 28, 2022, primary elections.
However, despite the shortcomings, Lawan was re-elected into the Senate for the fifth term by his constituents in the senatorial district following the National Assembly elections conducted February 25.
“You will recall that when the crisis about who will run for the Senate seat for Yobe North started, the matter was taken to court.
“At the Federal High Court Damaturu, somebody else was given judgement and immediately, the following morning, I issued a statement signed by me that I accepted the judgement of the Federal High Court Damaturu giving the Senate seat to somebody else and that I was not going to appeal the judgement and I meant it and I didn’t have any doubt about what I was doing.
“I was thoroughly convinced of what I was doing. But the people of Yobe North stood up in unison and in solidarity. They said that the Senate seat for Yobe North is not my personal thing. It is their own.
“So while they respect my opinion and my right to say something that I said before, they wanted an appeal against the judgement.
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“The party at the state level, APC, my party, took up the gauntlet. His Excellency, the Governor of Yobe State also took up the gauntlet and the party at the national level APC headquarters also took up the gauntlet and the party appealed. Of course, they lost at the Appeal Court.
“God has plans for us, like the popular adage that man proposes but God disposes off. He looked at the hearts of the ordinary people who fasted for me but those I knew and that I didn’t know.
“These people fasted on their own, they killed cows, and even camels, and spilled blood across the land. Even the old people and women, all fasted for my victory.
“In fact, I joined in the fast when I saw the youths in the Zone started fasting. They fasted for three or four days consecutively just praying to God that they get a judgement. And we got it.
“They fasted for three to four days consecutively praying for me. They mobilised themselves and bought cows, camels and sheep with their own money to slaughter and make sacrifices for me.
“The outcome of this election was the best I have had,” Lawan said.
He furthered that it was an emotional reunion between him and his constituents when he got home after the Supreme Court judgement.
He added that “Some were crying for joy. In my entire 20 years, I have never seen this kind of show of love from my people.
“I campaigned for two days; Wednesday and Thursday. We didn’t have time. Even if we didn’t go out to campaign, people were already mobilised. The outcome of the election was the best I ever had because they voted more than at any other time for 2023.
“Yobe North people deserve every accolade. In fact, I need your prayers so that I am able to give them the kind of representation that will make them happy because they have made me and all my supporters quite happy.”
