Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State yesterday denied a report in a national daily that he was under pressure to jettison his 2015 governorship ambition.
Yero, who became governor in 2012 following the death in a helicopter crash of his boss, Governor Patrick Yakowa, recently obtained nomination forms to contest the 2015 governorship election of the state on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party.
However, it was alleged that the move was greeted with opposition from party leaders, who want to replace Yero with a candidate from Southern Kaduna to complete the tenure of late Yakowa. The governor, according to the report, was considering bowing to the growing pressure to heed to the request of the party leaders.
But in a reaction through his media aide, Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor faulted the report saying he is qualified to run for any elective office and his intention to seek election won’t be threatened by “mischief makers”.
“The governor is not under pressure to step down for anybody. These are speculations by mischief makers aimed at confusing the people. The governor is eligible to seek re-election and the party has allowed level playing field for all contestants. He has obtained nomination forms for the governorship race and there is no going back”, he said.