An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Princess Hadiza Ibrahim, who stepped down from the Kogi State governorship primary, has appealed for an extension of date to allow her purchase the form and get back into the race.
Princess Ibrahim said she took the action because her ambition conflicted with the governorship aspiration of a House of Representatives member, James Faleke.
But Faleke has also quit the race, citing his preoccupation with the presidential election, which led to the victory of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu as reason.
Against the backdrop of the dramatic withdrawal of Faleke from the race, Mrs Ibrahim in a press conference on Monday, called on the leadership of the party to extend the sale of nomination and expression of intent forms to enable her participation in the forthcoming governorship election.
This is just as she expressed shock and embarrassment over the sudden withdrawal of Hon. Faleke from the ongoing screening exercise.
She lamented the action of the lawmaker, which she averred had put her political life in the balance, saying the best thing he would have done was to discuss his intention with the critical supporters before taking such a decision.
Ibrahim stated that she had to jettison her governorship ambition for not picking the party forms in order to honour Faleke, whom she called her political leader and teacher.
She explained that from 2015 election cycle, she has been vying for the office of governor of Kogi State at a time when women were buying the forms the same amount with their male counterparts, lamenting that it would have been easy for her now to pay for the forms which have been subsidized in favour of female politicians.
Mrs. Ibrahim was in the race in 2015 and 2019.
Addressing reporters in Lokoja, the state capital, she said: “I wish to state emphatically that the reason I did not obtain the Expression of Interest form for the APC governorship primary election coming up in April was borne out of some political reasons.
“I also wish to inform you that my ambition is borne out of the genuine desire to provide a people-oriented leadership that would ensure the provision of needed gains of democracy to our people in line with their wishes and aspirations.
“However, that desire can only be attained when it is not in conflict with my political leader, James Faleke, who is my political mentor and teacher. Having worked so closely with him on the political front for years, I consider it an affront to be in the same contest with him. A student cannot know more than the teacher.
