An erstwhile Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has written the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and various stakeholders, informing them of his intention to contest for the presidency in 2019.

His spokesperson, Malam Sule Ya’u Sule, who confirmed the development to newsmen on Wednesday, said Shekarau, who is also a former Governor of Kano State, had already sent notification letters to the PDP and all relevant stakeholders.

The party’s spokesperson Dayo Adeyeye, in a text message this morning confirmed that the party received Shekarau’s letter of interest.

Mr. Sule said Mr. Shekarau has also communicated his political ambition to various elders, community leaders, opinion leaders, political associates and religious leaders regardless of their ethnic and party affiliations. “Malam Shekarau deliberately refused to make his ambition public because he does not want the relevant stakeholders to read it for the first time on the pages of newspapers. He first notified them before making it public. He is now making necessary consultations,” he said.

In a letter which he was said to have personally signed and sent to one of his political associates, Hassan Indabawa, dated August 22, 2017, Mr. Shekarau said after the 2015 general elections, there had been requests by individuals and groups from different quarters urging him to contest for the presidency in 2019.

Some days ago, a former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, also sent a letter of notification to PDP leaders and members on his readiness to run for presidency in 2019.

This is even as the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, had last month publicly declared his ambition to seek the ticket, knowing well that the PDP has zoned its presidential ticket to the Northern region of Nigeria.