LAGOS – TWO presidential candidates in next month elections, Professor Pat Utomi of the Social Democratic Mega Party, SDMP and Professor Peter Nwangwu of African Democratic Congress, ADC, have withdrawn from the presidential race.

Utomi who announced his withdrawal from the race yesterday, said that those who could have voted for him should transfer their votes to the All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, presidential candidate, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

The withdrawal came a day after Utomi was praised by Nigerians for his brilliant performance at the Presidential debate held earlier on Tuesday evening.

In a message entitled: “Walking My Talk: A Cry For My Beloved Country,” Utomi told his supporters and the media that he would be sending a letter to INEC later in the day, withdrawing from the race.

He said: “I will be committing myself now to constitutional reforms and to building a new Nigeria. A month ago, I suggested I was rethinking how the spirit of service for the good of all could be deployed outside of partisan politics.

As the 2011 elections cycle rolled around about a year and half ago, the last thought on my mind was to be candidate for any office. I was persuaded that offering a clear vision of a new Nigeria would, at the least, result in having leaders committed to serving the people sacrificially.

I was convinced that would move Nigeria away from the column of paradise deferred to new possibilities.

“When I met the late Chief Anthony Enahoro, I had been briefed about a movement to bring together the progressive opposition to form united front to bring change about.

The ideas began to circulate to bring the progressive together under one platform which was narrowed to SDMP, ACN, CPC and ANPP.”

Utomi said that he entered the process with one goal of producing a formidable opposition which has not worked hence his decision to quit.

He noted: “What was important was to have one single ticket and I was willing to step down to achieve that. To pretend that there will be change in Nigerian democracy is deceit.

How can we pretend that we have a democracy. This is not a democracy. Our country is not working and yet we can replace those who are failing the country.

“It is interesting that we use what Gowon did in 1966, bringing Nigeria’s best into one serious government. This will provide us a foundation to finding lasting democracy.”

ADC to vote for Jonathan

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, on its part, yesterday, in Onitsha, Anambra State, announced its withdrawal from the presidential election and directed its members to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan.

Presidential candidate of the party, Professor Peter Nwangwu, was, however, not present at the rally where the national chairman of the party, Chief Okey Ralph Nwosu, announced the withdrawal.

Nwosu told party supporters that after extensive deliberations, the party came to the conclusion that Nigerians wanted President Jonathan and, therefore, ADC decided to support him to do the wish of Nigerians.

He said: “We are not a selfish party. We decided to step-down our presidential candidate, Prof. Peter Nwangwu, and asked our party members and supporters to vote President Goodluck Jonathan in the April 9 election and our flag bearer, being a true democrat willingly agreed to step down.”

“Our party has ideology and whatever we are doing, we do with reason. We decided to announce this in Onitsha as a mark of respect for the great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was the symbol of a new Nigeria and who equally shared name with President Jonathan.”

Nwosu who decried the state of the home of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, promised that the party’s lawmakers would sponsor bills at the national and State legislatures to facilitate the completion of the mausoleum that was started over eight years ago.

The former presidential candidate of ADC, Nwangwu, was originally a member of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, where he aspired to be a senator, but had to decamp to ADC when he lost the ticket to the former minister of information and communications, Professor Dora Akunyili.