Bashir Sheriff Machina has raised alarm that his life is under threat because he refused to step down for Senate President, Ahmad Lawan in his pursuit of senatorial mandate.

Machina who won the All Progressive Congress, APC Yobe North Senatorial District primaries disclosed this in a statement on Friday through his campaign organization.

It, therefore, urged security agencies to take necessary measures to protect the Yobe APC senatorial candidate.

The statement reads: “Information at the disposal of Bashir Machina Campaign Organisation is that there is a security threat to the senatorial candidate of APC for Yobe North, Hon. Bashir Sheriff Machina, especially in relation to his refusal to relinquish his legally acquired ticket.

“Credible sources confirmed that some people want him arrested or at worst eliminated. They have resorted to employing diabolical means over unlawful means, in pressuring him to step down.

“We use this opportunity to notify the security agencies of this threat or likely breach of security around our senatorial candidate, we believe the security agencies will rise up to the occasion and take the threat seriously.

“As Campaign Organization, we warned that the people behind his ordeal in the last four days should be held responsible if any mishap happens to him. By this notice, we are putting everybody on red alert.”

Lawan had challenged for the presidential ticket of the party but lost to a former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu.

If the Senate President is unable to get the ticket from Machina, it means he will return to the Senate in 2023, when his tenure in office will expire.

Machina said he won the senatorial ticket of the party on a clean slate and would not relinquish it to Lawan.

“As far as I’m concerned, I contested for the Yobe North senatorial ticket and I won the election. I was confirmed elected because there were other contestants but I was the one that was qualified. I happened to be unopposed.

“I am still the candidate; I have not withdrawn and I will not withdraw for anybody. I am being approached by some persons but I will not withdraw, Insha Allah,” he had said.

Also confirming Machina’s resolve, one of his loyalists, Hussaini Mohammed Isa, said that there was a lot of pressure on Machina to hand over the Yobe North senatorial ticket to Senator Lawan.

Isa described it as unfair, for some leaders of the party to mount such pressure on Machina to step down for Lawan after working hard to win the primaries.

But Lawan’s supporters have argued that the Senate President Is the best performing senator the zone has ever had, saying they want him to continue to represent the district.