The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose on Saturday announced that he has withdrawn his plan to run for the position of Nigeria’s President during the 2019 general elections.

Fayose who had earlier this year publicly declared his intention to contest the presidency rescinded his ambition while receiving two presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Rabiu Kwankwaso and Tanimu Turaki who had visited to lobby him and the delegates of the PDP in the state.

Fayose disclosed that he had to drop the ambition as a mark of sympathy and concern for his deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, who lost to Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last gubernatorial election in the state.

His words: “I dropped the presidential ambition because of the stolen mandate freely given to my deputy. As a good leader, I cannot abandon my loyal deputy whose mandate was stolen by the APC and be pursuing another ambition.

“My posters are there in a room. I am committed to the recovery of the mandate, for now, more than anything else.”