By Umar Egbunu Muhammed, Lafia

The former Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib and a frontline gubernatorial aspirant in Nasarawa State, has formally withdrawn from the governorship race of the 2027 general polls, amidst alleged pressure from the party stakeholders in the state.

Speaking at a world press conference in Lafia, the state capital, Dr. Shuaib explained that his decision to voluntarily withdraw from the governorship race was after due consultation with his supporters and loyalists across the 13 local government areas of the state and to exercise the spirit of integrity and responsibility as a statesman.

Our correspondent reports that his withdrawal comes two days after he held a mega rally in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital, which supporters defied heavy rains to welcome him to the southern zone in conclusion of his statewide consultations to continue or to step aside as Governor Abdullahi Sule had picked Senator Ahmed Wadada as his preferred successor.

His words, “I gave my word that I would support whomever His Excellency Governor Abdullahi A. Sule presented as his preferred candidate. That word was not given for the easy day. It was given precisely so it would hold on the difficult one. And so today, painful as it is, it must hold.”

“My years in the health sector taught me that public service is rarely about the loudest voice in the room. It is about the willingness to do unglamorous work over long stretches of time, often without applause, sometimes without thanks. That is the spirit in which I joined this contest. It is the spirit in which I leave it.”

“Accordingly, I am formally withdrawing from the contest for the APC gubernatorial ticket in Nasarawa State. I throw my full weight, the weight of my structure, and the weight of my conviction behind the preferred candidate of the Governor, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada. The strength we have built across this state remains intact, and it stands ready to serve the journey ahead.” an emotion-laden Dr. Shuaib stated.

The former Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency said his structure is intact to stand behind the governor’s preferred successor, Wadada, pledging allegiance to the movement.

He, however, applauded his supporters for remaining unperturbed behind through the odds of the struggle for the actualisation of a new vision for the state, urging them to rally round Wadada to move the nation’s solid-minerals hub forward.

“I am deeply humbled by the collective strength behind this movement: the young, the old, the sick and the healthy, people living with disabilities, students, hardworking men and women across the length and breadth of our dear state.

“I am especially moved by the
prayers of young children, offered day and night, and by the overwhelming support from far and near reaching out to all and sundry to appreciate and believe in the vision of this aspiration.”

“Your dedication to telling our story, shaping the narrative, and ensuring that this vision reaches every home has been instrumental in building and strengthening this movement. I know this decision will land hard,” he consoled the teary crowd.

Dr. Shuaib extolled the administration of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that hard decisions being taken would eventually yield positive results.

Our correspondent further observed that the venue turned emotional as supporters and stakeholders went down in tears over the unforeseen development.