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Tag: Nuhu Ribadu

  • Ribadu picks form as Fintiri insists on ticket

    Ribadu picks form as Fintiri insists on ticket

    Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chair Nuhu Ribadu obtained yesterday the Adamawa State governorship election nomination form.

    He is seeking to run on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Ribadu is battling for the slot with eight others. They are: Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri;  former Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Executive Secretary  Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Modibbo;  immediate past presidential Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak;  former governorship aspirant Marcus Gundiri;  ex-Lagos Military Administrator Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa; a former presidential aide, Dr. Umaru Ardo; Minister of State for Health Dr. Idi Hong and former PDP National Chairman Bamanga Tukur’s son, Auwal Tukur.

    But some of the aspirants have protested against the sales of nomination form for N11million.

    It was learnt that the sudden jump in the nomination fee from N6 million to N11 milion was part of the plot to reduce the number of aspirants.

    Ribadu’s nomination form was collected by his bosom friend, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud (Walin Mubi).

    Ribadu, who spoke through Mahmud, said he was not in the PDP for an automatic ticket.

    A source said: “Some stakeholders in PDP came together on Monday afternoon and raised N11million for Ribadu to buy the nomination form.

    “Ribadu is going into the race as a poor man and he is banking on his integrity to secure the ticket. We only hope that the people of Adamawa will allow a man of impeccable character to lead them.

    “This information is necessary to prove that Ribadu does not want to be the PDP candidate to compromise his integrity.”

    Ribadu’s form is number 0000060.

    Mahmud expressed the confidence that Ribadu would get a waiver to run, saying the PDP constitution did not insert the waiver clause in anticipation that the former EFCC boss would join the race.

    The nomination form collection closes today. The return of the forms is expected to close on August 25. The party has fixed August 28 for the screening of aspirants.

    The ward congress comes up on September 1. Appeals coming from the congress will be heard on September 3. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed the by-election for October 11.

    But some aspirants are not happy on the sudden increase in the nomination fee.

    One said: “We learnt the party increased the fee to scale down the number of aspirants because the intrigues of nomination caused crises in some states in the past, leading to the defeat of the party.

    “But our position is that the PDP is more or less saying that a poor man cannot seek its ticket for elective office. This is just unfortunate.

    “Some of us have protested to some members of the National Working Committee to reduce this jumbo nomination fee. We should not allow the rich to hijack the party at any level.”

    Hong urged Fintiri to forego his ambition in the interest of fairness and equity.

    Hong, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “My advice to Fintiri is that he should reflect on his position as an acting governor and serve as an unbiased umpire than being a contestant.

    “It is not fair to approbate and reprobate at the same time. Fintiri should forgo his ambition and return to the House of Assembly after 90 days. This is a path of honour. It is morally and ethically wrong for him to contest.”

    But Fintiri insisted yesterday that he should be given the ticket, saying his performance should fetch him the prize.

    He was received by the chairman, Chief Joel Hammanjoda Madaki, and elders of the party as well as local government chairmen.

    The acting governor was accompanied by all 25 members of the state Assembly. He urged the party to endorse him for the by-election.

    He said: “My performance as acting governor in less than two months has shown to all, especially the people of Adamawa State, that if I continue for another six months, the dividends of democracy will reach all and sundry.”

    Fintiri, who spoke in a firm tone said: “The people have seen what I have done and that is why I’m directing the party to see my coming as important since I worked hard with others in the State Assembly to restore the stolen mandate of the party, which was given to Admiral Murtala Nyako but he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

    “Mr. Chairman, since I assumed office as the acting governor, the people of Adamawa State have been calling on me daily to contest the by-election and even the election next year; that is why I have come with my team, all members of the State Assembly, to inform you that we are involved in this election and I will finish Nyako’s tenure ending May 2015.”

    According to him, the House of Assembly wants him to complete Nyako’s tenure.

    He said: “I want to assure the party that stability is maintained in the Adamawa PDP and also in the state as the good people have always been asking me to continue and therefore I’m here for the endorsement for the 6th September 2014 PDP primaries.”

    Fintiri donated N10 million for the repair of the secretariat.

    Acting Speaker Laori Kwamoti said the entire members of the House are behind Fintiri.

    Madaki thanked the acting governor, saying:  “Let me remind you that PDP is a party for all and the party will not discriminate against anyone. Whoever wishes to contest elections on its platform should go and purchase the form because the party is a liberal one that will not reject anyone. Everyone should be allowed to play a role.”

    He advised the party to be careful as flexing muscles would ruin its chances.

  • Ribadu joins Adamawa governorship race

    Ribadu joins Adamawa governorship race

    … Picks PDP nomination form

    The former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday picked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship nomination form to contest the Adamawa governorship election.

    The form, with serial number 0000060, was obtained at the party’s national secretariat through a proxy, Alhaji Hamidu Mahmud, at a cost of N10 million.

    Speaking with reporters shortly after obtaining the form, Mahmud said Ribadu had applied to the leadership of the PDP for a waiver and that he was awaiting the response from the party leaders.

    Mahmud expressed the confidence that Ribadu would get the waiver, saying that the PDP constitution did not insert the waiver clause in anticipation that the former EFCC boss would join the race.

    According to him, there is no reason why the party should deny him the opportunity to vie for the ticket.

    Besides Ribadu, others in the race for the party’s ticket include a former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak; Acting governor of Adamawa State, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri and the former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Ahmed Modibbo.

    Others are – former Minister of state for Foreign Affairs, Aliyu Idi Hong; former Lagos military  administrator, Buba Marwa; and son of former national chairman of the PDP, Awwal Tukur, and others.

    The nomination closes Tuesday while the return of the forms is expected to close on August 25.

    The party has fixed August 28 for the screening of aspirants.

    The ward congress comes up on September 1, while appeal for the congress will hold on September 3.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed the election for October 11.

  • Adamawa governorship poll: Ribadu registers for PDP

    Adamawa governorship poll: Ribadu registers for PDP

    •Meets party chair Muazu

    Former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday registered as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the party’s primaries to pick its candidate for the October governorship bye election in Adamawa State.

    He was registered at Bako Ward in Yola South.

    He was until now a member of the APC. He ran for president on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)

    He is expected to pick the nomination form tomorrow in Yola.

    His registration had been preceded by meetings with several PDP chieftains and lately with the party’s national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.

    Some party chieftains are rooting for Ribadu to fly the PDP flag in the October 11 bye-election to replace the impeached Governor Murtala Nyako.

    Ribadu is also said to be banking on a presidential aide to push for a waiver for him to contest in the PDP primaries.

    The number of PDP governorship aspirants has already increased to six, the latest being ex-Military Administrator of Lagos State, Gen. Buba Marwa; Dr. Umar Ardo, and Mr. Marcus Gundiri.

    The nomination process closes on Tuesday sparking an intense horse-trading in the last 48 hours.

    It was gathered that Muazu met Ribadu for some hours on Friday as part of the last minute moves to pressurise the ex-EFCC chairman to join the PDP.

     

    Sources said that their discussions centered  on the need for waiver for Ribadu to enable him vie for the PDP governorship ticket.

    Any defector to PDP is expected to fulfill mandatory two-year membership before aspiring for an elective office unless a waiver is granted by the party’s leadership.

    A reliable source said: “I am aware that Muazu had a meeting with Ribadu on Friday. In fact, they went for Jumat Service together before holding talks on issues having to do with the latter’s invitation to PDP.

    “This is not the first time the two leaders were meeting or discussing. But I think Friday’s talks had to do with the membership of PDP and the governorship slot of the party.

    “It is normal when new entrants are being welcomed. Even some members of the House of Representatives who defected from APGA to PDP had audience with Muazu.

    “But Adamawa’s case is peculiar. There has been pressure here and there on PDP and Ribadu. Some PDP members welcome Ribadu’s defection, some are vehemently opposed to him. There is division in the party on whether to grant Ribadu a waiver or not.”

    The source said some forces , including a presidential aide, are pushing for a waiver for Ribadu.

    The Presidential aide is currently out of the country.

    Another source in Ribadu’s camp said the meeting was a normal consultative type in the present circumstance.

    He said: “Irrespective of politics, Muazu and Ribadu are friends. We are talking of family bond spilling into politics. This background is necessary to clear some misgivings on the overtures to Ribadu to join PDP.

    “Other than serving the state, Ribadu has made it known that he is not a desperado as being portrayed.”

    .A third source added: “Since the PDP’s nomination form closes on August 19(Tuesday) , Ribadu has less than 48 hours to obtain governorship form.

    A PDP National Secretariat source added: “ So far, six aspirants have obtained the form but we do not know whether they will all return the nomination form or not.”

     

  • APC leaders mount pressure as Ribadu concludes plans to defect

    APC leaders mount pressure as Ribadu concludes plans to defect

    There were strong indications yesterday that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has concluded plans to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in spite of pressure to shelve such move.

    A source in his campaign organisation said Ribadu might announce his final decision on or before Friday to lay all speculations to rest.

    It was learnt that the initial plan was for Ribadu to defect on Thursday at a mini-rally in Yola, but he decided to hold more consultations following protests from some stakeholders in Adamawa PDP.

    Ribadu was also said to be hurt by alleged blackmail by some of his rivals in PDP, who have drawn a battle line.

    But some leaders of the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) have held last minutes meeting with Ribadu to plead with him to shelve the plan.

    Another  reliable source said: “Barring any last minute hitch, Ribadu has concluded arrangements to defect to the ruling PDP on or before Friday to settle the controversy trailing his defection once and for all. Meetings to this effect were concluded last weekend.

    “All I can tell you is that Ribadu will make his decision known to Nigerians. He is almost finalising last segment of consultations.

    “The only thing disturbing Ribadu and his team is the increasing mudslinging and attacks on his person.”

    Another source gave insights into the final stage of plans to bring Ribadu on board by some PDP leaders.

    The source said: “In one of the meetings in Abuja, a PDP stakeholder from Adamawa Southern Senatorial District invited a couple of APC chairmen from Adamawa State, together with a handful of former members of the state Assembly during the tenure of former Governor Boni Haruna in the company of three members of the current PDP State Executive Council to a meeting with Ribadu himself in attendance.

    “The stakeholder, who happens to come from the same local government with a top aide to Mr. President, informed the meeting that he was personally directed by Mr. President to invite them to the meeting and inform them that the defection of Ribadu to PDP had the full support of Mr. President.

    “He said what they needed to do was to mobilise the ward delegates in readiness for the party primaries that would soon take place, especially given the fact that apart from those three members of the state PDP Executive Council that were at the meeting, all the others cannot be relied upon.

    “He further told the meeting that Ribadu would be granted a waiver to contest the governorship whether the state chapter of the party liked it or not.”

     

     

    Another source said: “A cabal is behind the coming of Ribadu and the way it is going about it, it cannot impose Ribadu on PDP in Adamawa. We know their game plan.

    “From Kaduna, a very close ally and former minister in the early 80s brokered a meeting between Ribadu, who is his godson with Awwal Tukur, his nephew and son-in law on how to prosecute the Nuhu ticket.

    “From all these and in spite of the stiff opposition from all other major stakeholders of PDP Adamawa, we wait to see how Ribadu can scale through and pick a ticket to run under PDP, a party he had a few months ago called assembly of rogues and a Federal Government  he had run down naked before the nation and international community in his report on the oil sector.”

     

     

  • Adamawa: Ribadu not my problem – Gulak

    Adamawa: Ribadu not my problem – Gulak

    The former Political Adviser to the President, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak has dismissed insinuations that he might have been rattled by the purported interest of the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in the Adamawa governorship race.

    Gulak, who addressed journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said Ribadu can never be a threat to his ambition to contest the Adamawa State governorship election, whose date would be announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) any moment from now.

    The state’s Assembly had in July, impeached Governor Murtala Nyako, an action generally perceived to have been instigated by power brokers within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Gulak dismissed the purported plan by Ribadu to join the governorship race on the platform of the PDP.

    The ex- EFCC chairman is still a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “I don’t believe Ribadu would jettison his ideals and defect from the APC to the PDP for the purpose of contesting the governorship election in Adamawa State.

    “If he is sure of his popularity, he should be ready to contest on the platform of the APC if he so desires, but it is the people that will decide who to govern them.

    “However, if he has decided to join the PDP, as it is being rumoured, then he is welcome. But given a transparent process, no politician in Adamawa State today has what it takes to defeat me in any primary election or the election proper.

    “It is a matter of one’s popularity with the people because Adamawa of today is far different from what obtained about seven years ago,” Gulak stated.

    He dismissed insinuations that his removal from office by President Goodluck Jonathan a few weeks ago, might work against his ambition, stressing that he was not removed as a result corruption or any misconduct.

    “Since my removal from office I have not been invited by the police, SSS, EFCC or any arm of the security agencies for questioning because I did not commit any crime. I was removed because it was time for me to leave.

    “I have been there for about seven years and I discharged my duties creditably well. My support for President Jonathan’s re-election bid remained unshaken because there is no alternative to Jonathan in the PDP,” he said.

     

     

  • Adamawa investigation panel begins sitting in camera

    Adamawa investigation panel begins sitting in camera

    •Atiku, Ribadu relocate to Yola

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss Nuhu Ribadu relocated yesterday to Yola in what appeared to be last-minute efforts to save Governor Murtala Nyako’s governorship.

    A seven-man panel is investigating allegations against Nyako – in defiance of the two-day holiday declared by the governor.

    Anti-Nyako “forces” in Abuja, who are believed to be behind the action are said to have set a two-week timeline for the removal of the governor and his deputy, Bala Ngilari.

    The panel constituted by the state’s Acting Chief Judge, Ambrose Mammadi, sat in camera yesterday.

    According to sources, Atiku abandoned his annual Umrah (lesser Hajj) to join the battle to stave off the impeachment proceedings against Nyako.

    The ex-Vice President met with Ribadu and key leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A source said: “The forces from Abuja against Nyako are overwhelming. But Atiku, Ribadu and APC leaders are intensifying the lobbying of lawmakers to save Nyako.

    “Since Atiku flew into Yola early on Monday, he has been holding consultations with Ribadu who has been in the state since Friday.

    “But the lawmakers are adamant, insisting that Nyako must go.”

    Last night, Nyako was said to be contemplating resignation following pressure from his family and associates.

    A highly-placed source said: “The governor has confided in his relatives and some APC leaders that it is better to resign than be humiliated out of office.

    “The APC leaders are, however, asking him to exercise patience and allow them to exhaust all lobbying machinery.

    The panel started sitting at 3pm at J & J Holiday Villa located at Atirwucha Close in Karewa GRA, Yola.

    The members, led by their chairman Buba Kaimaga (Mubi Northern Zone), sat under heavy security.

    The other members are Laraba Hassan(Michika Northern Zone) Njidda Kito(Song Central Zone), Joshua Abu (Hong Central Zone), Binanu Esthon (Guyuk Southern Zone), Sa’ad Lawan(Mayo-Belwa Southern Zone),  and Esthon Gapsiso(Genye Southern Zone)

    It was gathered that the committee defied the public holidays because “inauguration is merely symbolic and not a prerequisite”.

    A source said: “Once the acting Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ambrose D. Mammadi raised the panel under Section 185(5) of the 1999 Constitution, the panel has locus standi to operate.

    “From the way we are going, the Abuja forces are out to remove Nyako and his deputy on or before two weeks.

    “The Presidency is interested in the governor’s ouster. The military and security agencies have been mobilised to protect members of the House of Assembly and the panel. All these agencies have tightened the nooze around those in government. The impeachment proceedings might just be mere constitutional formality.”

    Many Adamawa citizens besieged the State High Court complex venue to witness the inauguration as early as 8am yesterday. But it was not to be.

    A source said the inauguration of the panel was not a requirement for it to function.

    He said all that was needed was for the chief Judge to set up a seven-man panel of distinguished personalities who are to look into the allegations raised.

    The panel began its sitting at the J&J Holiday Inn under tight security

    Reporters who converged on the hotel to cover the sitting of the panel were denied access.

    Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House, Mr Solomon Kumanga promised to make it possible for reporters to attend subsequent sittings of the panel.

    Adamu Kamale, chairman House committee on Information in a statement said: “Now that the panel is in place, the stage is clear for the governor and the deputy to disprove the allegations against them as required by the Constitution rather than throwing stones at the House”.

    He said Nyako’s recent statement exonerating the Presidency from his ordeal, vindicated the position of the House.

    The assembly also faulted the declaration of two days holiday by Nyako as “ill-timed and self-serving,” adding that such a gesture should have been taken when state lost many of its citizens in violent attacks by gunmen.

    The House urged the state government to pay workers’ salaries and debunked claims by the governor that the state salary accounts were frozen.

    The statement also alerted of threats made on the life of the lawmakers though intimidations and hired assassins as a result of their unshakeaable resolve to see that the allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and the deputy are concluded in accordance with the 1999 constitution as amended.

  • Why North is in crisis, by Ribadu

    Why North is in crisis, by Ribadu

    FORMER Economi and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said the security and socio-economic challenges bedeviling the North are a reflection of the dire condition of Nigeria.

    Speaking yesterday at a forum of Northern elders and leaders in Kano, Ribadu blamed failure of leadership, unity and strategic planning as some of the issues responsible for the failure of the region and Nigeria to rise behind their current status.

    Ribadu said: “The story of the North’s deterioration is a replica of Nigeria’s story. Searching solutions to these challenges also means groping for the ropes to a better future for our dear country. I am a believer in the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria, under which we are a federating unit with 72 percent of the total landmass and more than half of the population, according to the 2006 headcount.”

    “As such, we have to first situate ourselves within the larger prism of the country. As part of a federal system, the North can legitimately articulate its own philosophy and tools for development as some people within the nation have done,” he said.

    Ribadu noted that “to achieve whatever agenda is for the North, we must first integrate ourselves fully into the Nigerian entity and the world as it is in this 21st century. In this journey we are making, we have to continue to evaluate and from time to time, shake up or shake off practices, norms and dogmas that hinder our progress.”

    The former EFCC chairman added: “Putting this house in order means getting our acts together; it means cleaning ourselves of the quicklime that keep us in a standing position without any movement.”

     

    According to him, the challenges facing the North could be turn into positives if leaders and people of the region decide to draw lessons from the misfortunes and work on solving important questions of development.

    “Yes, we are in difficult times but I see opportunities in our difficulty. A lot of places have gone under such difficulties but with much introspection and self-cleansing, they emerge out of it stronger. Hard time, it is said, is like the washing machine; it twists, turns and knocks you around but it makes you come out clean. Nothing ever goes without teaching us something to learn.”

    On the current insurgency ravaging parts of the North, Ribadu said it is part of a global phenomenon afflicting countries with majority Muslim population such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan, “however, it is the ability of the constituted authorities to manage it and successfully contain it that differentiate ours from what happens elsewhere.”

    Ribadu added that the escalation of the campaign of violence was due to “having in place incompetent system and institutions that do not take any proactive step. A quality leadership is the one that recognises a problem even before it becomes an emergency. This insurgency therefore thrives due to disaster of a leadership that failed to detect a problem, tackle it and solve it even before it goes out of hand”.

    For an end to challenges facing the North and Nigeria, Ribadu prescribed having “competent and responsible leadership that will unite the people, not polarise the people along ethnic and religious lines”.

     

    He said Nigeria needs “a competent leadership that can have the courage and sincerity to confront our major predicaments head on. Such leadership must also have the audacity to expunge corruption from our system which is responsible for majority of the challenges we are complaining of today.”

     

  • Tinubu: Atiku’s return is good for democracy

    Tinubu: Atiku’s return is good for democracy

    •Excitement as Akande, Nyako, Marwa, others unite for APC in Adamawa

    Yola, the Adamawa State capital, was agog with political excitement yesterday when the state’s top political leaders and national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) launched the party.

    In attendance were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governor Murtala Nyako; former Lagos State Governor Buba Marwa; former presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu and Senator Mohammed Bindow Jibrila – all Adamawa indigenes.

    They were joined by the leaders of the party, led by its Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande and National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    The party chieftains were supported by other APC leaders from parts of the country, including Senator Ali Modi Sheriff, Senator Danjuma Goje, ex-Bayelsa State Goverbor Timpreye Sylva, Senator Sani Yeriman Bakura, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and Dr Audu Ogbe.

    The host was the Interim State Chairman Kobis Aris Thimnu. He received the party’s flag from Chief Akande.

    The APC reaffirmed its objective of winning the federal elections next year.

    Akande, who formally received Atiku, following the former vice president’s defection on Sunday, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been rested.

    He urged Adamawa interim state executive to ensure that the registration of members was not by allocation or proxy but by physical registration.

    Tinubu urged Nigerians to celebrate the ousting of the PDP .

    The foremer Lagos State governor advised Nigerians to sweep away the dirt and social vices of the PDP with APC’s broom.

    The APC leader described the return of Atiku to the progressives fold as a giant stride that would enhance democracy.

    He hailed Nyako’s efforts at resolving the internal crisis in the party in the state.

    Nyako said the PDP had died and Nigerians should await its final interment.

    He said: “The PDP has gone for good for the reign of impunity. The party is dead. Nigerians should rally round to bury it.”

    Sylva apologised to Nigerians, on behalf of the people of Niger Delta region, for mobilising them to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

    He regretted that the President had failed to deliver democracy’s dividends to Nigerians.

    Sylva said: “In 2011, I was in Yola to mobilise the Adamawa people to vote for our son, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. You kept to faith by voting for him as president of Nigeria. In 2014, I am here to apologise to Adamawa people for the failure of our son, Goodluck Jonathan.”

    The former governor said he was in the state to team up with the North so that they could salvage Nigeria from the pangs of deprivation.

    “The country is not performing. The ship is sinking due to poor leadership,” he said.

    Ribadu spoke on unity of the party at all levels, saying unity and mutual respect were the sure roads to success.

    The former EFCC chairman said the APC had grown into a formidable force that could uproot the PDP.

    Marwa said the power squabble within the party had been resolved to make the state better.

    Jibrila, who spoke on behalf of defected senators, assured that after the elections, the APC would form the government at the centre.

    Nyako thanked Atiku for joining hands to fight the bad leadership of the PDP.

     

  • APC to Jonathan: don’t spend nation’s resources on PDP states

    APC to Jonathan: don’t spend nation’s resources on PDP states

    The All Progressive Congress (APC) yesterday sent a warning message to President Goodluck Jonathan. He shouldn’t spend the nation’s resources on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-controlled states.

    Besides, the party reconciled its members from Adamawa State, according to its Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande who spoke to reporters in Abuja after the peace meeting.

    Akande said: “The reconciliatory talk is not for Adamawa State alone. We are doing reconciliatory talks for all the states of the party, where the PDP governors joined APC so that the new people coming to APC will be receptive to the members of our party. And that is exactly what we are doing with Adamawa State this afternoon. There was no query, no crisis, we just want them to know their roles and how to receive them.”

    Akande said the APC has no cause to lose its sleep over the governors’ talks with anybody, stressing that Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko put it to Mr. president that he was at the Villa to notify him (Jonathan) of his defection to APC.

    “You need to know the calibre of governors that have joined the APC. It is a pain in the neck for the PDP but it is a pleasure for the APC.”

    Former Presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu said the case of Adamawa was not different from other states.

    The former EFCC boss urged political observers to appreciate that heavyweight politicians are joining the party and that the tendency of having some teething difficulties to tackle in order to have a strong foundation does not mean insurmountable problem.

    Ribadu said: “In Adamawa, we are working hard under the leadership of the APC to have a better understanding, to try to take off the little challenges. And the meeting of today is in furtherance of that. And we thank God that were came out big in the understanding that indeed the future is big, new and fresh and it can accommodate all of us.”

    The party also vowed to pursue the court action against the federal government on the adoption of a budget benchmark which the APC described as illegal.

    On the pandemonium over the 2014 budget benchmark, Ribadu said to the APC, as an opposition party, any issue of benchmark is unconstitutional and illegal.

    Ribadu said as a party that has a strategic interest and a stake in the affairs of the country, “we are saying the way the federal government is pursuing it is not just illegal but very unfair.”

    Akande said: “Benchmark should never be discussed. It should never be enacted into any law. It should never be part of the budget. Benchmark is unconstitutional. The constitution says that all funds coming in should be paid into the common pool and should be shared according to the laid down regulations. So to bring benchmark is to promote corruption.”

    On corruption, Ribadu gave the President a wake up call, advising him to heed the advice of House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.

    The speaker on Monday chided the President for waging a weak war against corruption.

    Ribadu said :”My own and what I will want to add is to talk to President Jonathan directly and say please listen: when people talk, especially serious people, people, who are in strategic positions in our country, when the tell you something, take it and improve yourself.

    “The message of the speaker to Mr. President is wake up, what you have been doing is not going well especially with the fight against corruption. And all that he (speaker) said are nothing new.

    “They are all what we as Nigerians are aware of and we see it and we live with it daily. I want to appeal to the President that as our leader, the President of 160 million Nigerians, Nigerians are telling him the reality and the truth, especially when it comes to the fight against corruption, let him listen to Tambuwal.

    “What he said is the truth. What he said is what Nigerians believe. What he said is the fundamental thing that today all of us are worried and concerned. It is a matter of telling you so that you correct yourself.”

    Reacting to plans by the Federal Government to disburse $32billion to 16 PDP governors, Akande said: “If they illegally manipulate the national treasury; it is easy for the federal government to spend its money the way it wants, but it will be illegal for them, it will be unconstitutional for them to take the money from the national purse.

    “There is the national purse and there is the federal government’s purse. If they take the money from the federal government’s purse we won’t bother; they can do that. But if they take the money from the common purse, there will be trouble.”

  • Ribadu urges African countries to recover stolen loot

    Ribadu urges African countries to recover stolen loot

    Former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has urged African countries to recover the stolen money stashed abroad by corrupt leaders.

    Ribadu spoke at the plenary of the second annual High Level Dialogue on Governance and Democracy in Africa in Dakar, Senegal.

    He spoke on: The Imperatives of Rule of Law for Improved Public Service Delivery in Africa.

    The former EFCC chairman said the step was necessary to serve as deterrent to the leaders and countries, which accepted stolen wealth from Africa.

    He said African countries should learn from Nigeria, which recovered the stolen wealth of its past leaders.

    Ribadu said when he was chairman, the agency recovered $2 billion stolen by past leaders.

    He said Nigeria also built a global alliance to stop countries from accepting questionable deposits.

    Ribadu said his EFCC secured 300 convictions and recovered $5 billion.

    He urged the African Union (AU) to assist member-states to build up their capacities by tackling corruption.

    Mr Olawale Fapohunda, Ekiti State attorney-general and commissioner for Justice, called for reforms to strengthen the rule of law in Africa.

    He said the major problem facing leadership in Africa was the perception that “nothing good comes out of the government.”

    Fapohunda urged civil society organisations to show more interest in governance and enlighten the people.