A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, Hassan Liman, has ruled out the possibility of withdrawing from the race ahead of the party’s governorship primary scheduled for Thursday.

Speaking with journalists after leading supporters to a rally and visit at the APC State Secretariat in Lafia, Liman said he remained fully committed to the contest and had not been approached by anyone to step down.

According to him, withdrawal from the race was never under consideration, stressing that every aspirant who obtained nomination forms had a constitutional and democratic right to participate in the primary election.

The senior lawyer also dismissed claims of internal crisis within the APC following Governor Abdullahi Sule’s endorsement of another aspirant for the 2027 governorship election.

Liman maintained that the governor’s public support for a preferred candidate did not amount to the cancellation of the primary process, noting that party members remained united despite differing political interests.

He recalled that a similar situation played out during the 2018 governorship primary when former Governor Tanko Al-Makura openly backed Sule, while several other aspirants still contested the election.

Drawing parallels with that exercise, Liman argued that the current contest should not be viewed as unusual, insisting that participation by multiple aspirants reflected internal democracy within the party.

Reacting to concerns that the entrance of former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu Abubakar could divide votes among contenders, Liman said the issue of vote splitting did not arise.

He pointed out that seven aspirants were contesting this year’s primary compared to 11 in 2018, adding that all contestants were merely exercising their constitutional rights.

Liman further expressed confidence that Governor Sule would not pressure any aspirant to withdraw from the race, noting that the governor had repeatedly acknowledged the rights of all qualified aspirants to contest.

Governor Sule had earlier endorsed Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as his preferred successor for the 2027 governorship election, a move that sparked criticism from some party members who accused him of attempting to influence the process.

However, in a recent statewide broadcast from Lafia, the governor defended his position, saying he had the democratic right to support any aspirant of his choice while assuring party members that the APC would conduct direct primaries in line with its constitution and democratic principles.