Veteran journalist Inuwa Bwala withdraws from House of Reps race, to refund campaign donations

Veteran journalist, and a former commissioner of information in Borno state, Inuwa Bwala, on Thursday announced he was withdrawing from his bid to contest for a House of Representatives seat.

Mr Bwala subsequently said he would refund all donations made to support him in procuring a nomination form.

Mr Bwala had indicated interest to contest the Askira-Uba, Hawul Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

When Mr Bwala was contesting for the position, he received donations to the tune of N12.2 million from members of his community.

Though the former journalist did not state the reason for his withdrawal from the position, PREMIUM TIMES learned that he was prevailed upon by top members of the APC to step down for another member of the party who is interested in contesting for the same seat.

Party sources told our reporter that Mr Bwala was then advised to seek election into the state’s House of Assembly with the guarantee that he would be supported to emerge as the party’s candidate for his constituency.

Though he said he was disappointed by the decision, he pledged to heed the instruction of the party’s leadership.

He, however, in a statement, declined to contest for a seat in the state’s House of Assembly in order not to create disaffection among members who might have indicated an interest in the position.

Read his statement below:

I wish to place on record that I am overwhelmed by the support I enjoyed since I indicated an interest in contesting for a position in the House of Representatives to represent the wonderful people of Askira-Uba/Hawul Federal Constituency of Borno State,” he said.

I was particularly moved by the crowd that received me during my declaration of interest in Hawul.

Of particular note are the contributions made by people to the tune of N12,253,000, to aid my campaigns and the attendant goodwill messages I received towards that quest.

I went into the race with the solemn belief that I will lend my experiences, my exposures and my capabilities to the needed representation of our people. I also went in with the determination to make a difference in leadership by bringing developments to our area and placing Askira-Uba/Hawul Federal Constituency on the path to greatness.

As you may be aware, there have been adjustments and realignment of forces in the contests, which necessitated changes in positions people seek to contest.

Accordingly, I have been prevailed upon by our leaders to equally make sacrifices by adjusting my earlier position.

As a team player, I wish to respect the views of our leaders, however painful they may seem. However, in doing so, I foresee a situation where my actions may cause further dislocations to our collective goals, as such, I wish to announce my complete withdrawal from any form of a contest for now.

I am withdrawing from the race without any strings attached, rather ensure a rancour-free process that will consolidate our party’s hold on the polity.

To this end, I wish to kindly request everybody who has made financial contributions to my campaigns to make available their account details for appropriate refunds. Where anyone does not wish to be refunded, I hereby pledge that the funds will be utilized in providing social infrastructure in choice locations in our area and aid the needy.

I sincerely apologize to all those who have suffered any form of inconvenience by my actions and I seek your understanding. I plead that we take everything with equanimity, believing that God’s time is the best.

I wish all those who are contesting for various positions the best of luck in the primary elections and subsequent general elections. And please continue to vote for our party, the APC. Thank you and God bless you.