John O'Dowd has confirmed he is to challenge Michelle O'Neill for the position of deputy leader of Sinn Fein.
The Co Armagh man announced his intentions in a tweet this morning.
He said he was looking forward to "the debate across the party and island".
The Upper Bann MP is aiming to collect sufficient nominations ahead of the party's ard fheis, which is set to take place in Derry in November.
A former Education Minister in the Assembly, O'Dowd has been an MLA since 2003.
Mrs O'Neill succeeded Martin McGuinness as Sinn Fein's northern leader in January 2017 with Mary Lou McDonald taking over from Gerry Adams as leader in February 2018.
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