Adamawa guber: Pressure on Ribadu to join PDP

Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, is being pressurised to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest for governorship in Adamawa State.

Ribadu, who is currently a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has refused to publicly comment on the governorship race.

PDP sources had told TheCable on Tuesday that moves were on to draft Ribadu into the race following the impeachment of Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako.

The electoral commission is, by law, expected to fill the position latest by October.

A top official of the party said Ribadu would be persuaded to join the PDP ahead of the poll because “it is the only realistic platform on which he can be elected”.

The APC is falling apart in Adamawa after Nyako’s impeachment, with all the council chairmen in the 21 LGAs, councillors and development area administrators defecting to the PDP.

“The incentives before Ribadu are very attractive. One, he will get an automatic ticket. Two, he will not spend one kobo on campaign as the party machinery will take care of that. Three, he can have a realistic go at presidency in 2019,” the official told TheCable.

TheCable learnt that there is likely to be a demonstration by the youths on the streets of Yola in the days ahead.

If Ribadu eventually defects to the PDP, the battle for the ticket is certainly going to take a dramatic turn.

Brig-General Mohamed Marwa and Alhaji Awwal Tukur have already been tipped to go head-to-head in the PDP primaries as the top contenders, with acting governor Ahmadu Fintiri also reported to be interested.

Ribadu’s entry as the “anointed candidate” will change the dynamics, with implications for internal party politics.

Two days after the PDP official told TheCable about the move, a youth organisation, the Adamawa Concerned Youths for Good Governance. is urging Ribadu to vie for governorship seat on the party’s platform.

Its chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa, said on Thursday that the situation in Adamawa required a leader with focus and sense of dedication, to remedy, according to a NAN report.

“We call on Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to come and join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and contest for the governorship seat of the state.

“Our call on the former EFCC Chairman to contest in the forthcoming gubernatorial election is for him to salvage the state from total collapse and decay, occasioned by serious maladministration in the last fifteen years,”  Isa said.

He said the group had identified “corruption” as the major cause of under-development of the state, as such Ribadu was the only solution to the menace.

“Ribadu  is known internationally as an anti-corruption crusader and so if placed in position of authority,  a solution would be found and investors would be at ease  investing in Adamawa,”  Isa said.