Ribadu returns to APC, says he’s a loyal party man

Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says he has returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) “as a loyal party man”.

“Today I heeded the calls on me to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party of which I was a founding member,” he said in a statement.

“I re-registered as a member of the APC last night through the party’s online portal. After that, the leadership of the party in my Bako ward of Yola South Local Government Area visited me in my Yola residence to welcome me back to their fold.

“This afternoon, I visited the Yola South secretariat of the party to present myself and submit to the leadership as a loyal party man. My decision to return to the APC was triggered by my belief that all politics are local.

“Almost everyone around me, and with whom we started my political journey believed the time had come for us to make sacrifices and make concessions. That is in addition to the unbelievable love that my friends in the APC have showered on me in the past months.

“They demonstrated in words and action that they wanted me back home. The intractable crises in the PDP also made it impossible for one to contribute to the necessary task of building a viable opposition platform for our country.

“I also did a deep and long reassessment of the circumstances that warranted my exit from the APC in the first place. I left the APC in 2014 owing to fundamental disagreements with the ways the chapter of the party in my state was run after it fell into some hands.

“Some colleagues and I tried hard to reposition the fold and save the then APC administration from an orchestrated impeachment plot. We didn’t succeed.

“Events in the last 15 months have addressed many of the issues and healed some of the wounds. More so, with the genuine and sincere invitations I received since last year to retrace my steps into the party, I decided to return after consulting family and political associates at all levels.

“I would like to appreciate all those members of the party who privately and publicly prodded me to return to the party. My appreciation also goes to the leadership of our party, from my ward in Bako to the national leadership, for the enthusiasm they showed in having me back.”

Ribadu left APC in 2014 after failing to get the governorship ticket. But, after stiff opposition, he eventually secured the ticket of his new party, the PDP, only to lose the governorship election woefully. With 98,970 votes, he came a distant third behind Markus Gundiri of SDP who had 181,806 and Muhammad Jibrilla, who won with 362,329.