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Tag: Ribadu

  • Adamawa: PDP stops Acting Governor, clears Ribadu, others

    Adamawa: PDP stops Acting Governor, clears Ribadu, others

    The panel, raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to screen aspirants for the October 11 Adamawa State givernorship election has disqualified the Acting Governor, Umar Fintiri from the race.

    Chairman of the five-man screening panel, Senator Ibrahim Mantu who anounced Fintiri’s disqualification at the end of the screening exercise Saturday, said the Acting Governor was disqualified by virtue of Section 191 (2) of the Constitution.

    Mantu said the section does not permit someone to transform from acting capacity to a substantive governor.

    “Fintiri is not qualified to contest in the primaries because he is not as a deputy governor emerged as acting governor.

    “He is a child of circumstance. He is the midwife and should not be the one carrying the pregnancy. He is like a referee who cannot participate in the match”, Mantu said.

    The panel chairman who described the screening as a transparent exercise, however said Fintiri was free to appeal the decision at the Screening Appeal Committee set up by the party.

    The 13 successful aspirants are: Nuhu Ribadu, Awwal Tukur, Mohammed Modibbo, Idi Hong, Marcus Gundidri, Buba Marwa, Abubakar Girei, Umar Ardo, Ahmed Gulak, James Barka, Jerry Kundusi, Andrawus Sawa, Aliyu Kama.

    It was different strokes as the 14 aspirants filed out of the venue of the screening one after the other.

    While some of the aspirants emerged from the screening exercise grinning from ear to ear, a few others emerged with long faces, as they avoided speaking with reporters.

    A cheerless Acting Governor Umar Fintiri emerged from the screening at 6. pm and avoided anxious reporters with who he chatted heartily shortly before he went in for screening.

    He walked briskly to his car and was driven away before any of the waiting journalists could ask him any question.

    Similarly, ex Political Adviser to the President, Ahmed Gulak, also came out of the exercise not smiling. He declined speaking with the press, just like Umar Ardo who walked away unnoticed after taking his turn with the screening panel.

    Former Lagos military administrator, Buba Marwa, who was the first to be screened, could not speak with reporters after the screening. He excused himself from the reporters, saying he was a bit under the weather.

    However, it was all smiles for the former chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who described the exercise as transparent. He sounded optimistic about his chances of winning the party’s November 6 primary election.

    The son of the former PDP chair, Awwal Tukur also came out of the exercise to express satisfaction with the process. He also sounded positive about his chances.

    Abubakar Girei came out of the exercise describing himself as the man to beat, just like Idi Hong who said he stood a steady chance of getting the ticket.

  • Adamawa: Ribadu, Fintiri, Tukur, others beat PDP deadline

    Adamawa: Ribadu, Fintiri, Tukur, others beat PDP deadline

    It was a flurry of activities at the Abuja national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday, as 12 of the party’s 14 governorship aspirants scrambled to return their nomination forms to beat the deadline.

    The aspirants, who took turns to speak with reporters after submitting their forms, described the contest as “serious business,” saying they were not leaving anything to chance.

    Adamawa Acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri, insisted that the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, is not a threat to his aspiration.

    Fintiri said rather, Ribadu should be the one to be afraid of him. “I am the one that is a threat to Ribadu. Why should I be afraid of Ribadu when he does not have a structure and support base.

    “I am the leader of the rescue team in Adamawa because I have been laying the foundation for good governance, equity and fairness since I assumed office as Acting Governor,” Fintiri stated.

    Ribadu on his part, said he has been working hard for the party’s ticket, saying his last minute defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP would not affect his chances.

    He said: “I am prepared to serve the people at any level I find myself, even if I am called upon to serve as a street sweeper. I am working hard to win the party’s ticket. You should get it right that I am not new in partisan politics.”

    Also at the secretariat was the son of the immediate past national chairman of the PDP, Auwal Tukur, who came with a large number of supporters on his entourage.

    In an apparent reference to Ribadu, Tukur decried what he called a situation where a stranger would join the PDP at the eleventh hour and expect to get leverage over older members of the party.

    “A situation like this kills the initiative of existing members who have worked hard for the progress and development of the party over the years. It is not fair and such things should not be encouraged in the party,” Tukur said.

    Shortly after returning his form, former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Mohammed Modibbo, challenged other aspirants to test their popularity at the grassroots instead of seeking undue leverage from the powers that be.

    Former Lagos State military administrator, Buba Marwa and former Political Adviser to the President, Ahmed Gulak, had submitted their forms on Friday.

  • Ribadu denies inviting Nyako’s henchmen to rally

    Ribadu denies inviting Nyako’s henchmen to rally

    A governorship aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has distanced himself from the presence of two former Governor Murtal Nyako’s henchmen at his rally.

    The men, former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Kobis Ari Thimnu and ex-party chairman, Alhaji Mijinyawa Umaru Kugama, were accused of misadvising the former governor and ruining the economy of Adamawa State.

    Ribadu, speaking to reporters in Yola, through the Director- General of the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu Campaign organisation (MNRCO), Mr. Kevin Peters, said the two men were never invited to his campaign launch, but they surfaced suddenly at the PDP headquarters in Yola, even before Ribadu could address the party.

    Peters said when Ribadu came, thousands of people from PDP, All Progressives Grand Aliance (APGA), Labour Party, Kowa Party and All Progressives Congress (APC) converged on the PDP office in solidarity with him because of their belief in him.

    He said the men might have accompanied the people who thronged the party office when Ribadu visited the place.

    Peters said: “The constitution provides for freedom of association. This explains why they came. Besides, they are indigenes of Adamawa State, going by the constitution. As far as we are concerned, nobody invited them. I think they gate-crashed into the event.”

    He advised those thronging the MNRCO to go to their wards and register for the PDP.

    Peters thanked those who came to the launch and hailed PDP elders for turning out en masse in solidarity with Ribadu.

  • Waiver request for Ribadu splits PDP

    Waiver request for Ribadu splits PDP

    There is tension in the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) over a waiver request for  a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, ex-Military Administrator of Lagos State Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa and  former governorship aspirant Mr. Marcus Gundiri.

    The waiver will enable Ribadu, who  obtained his membership of the party on Saturday, and the others to collect the party’s governorship nomination form, which closes tomorrow.

    Ribadu’s waiver request has split the National Working Committee of the party and created a wedge between the Adamawa State chapter and the National Secretariat.

    The Adamawa State chapter is demanding a written request to it by the National Secretariat for waiver for Ribadu.

    The state chapter insists that the waiver should cover Gen. Marwa and Mr. Gundiri to create a level-playing field for all.

    According to sources, PDP National Chairman Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, through an emissary on Saturday, asked the state chapter of the party to request for a waiver for Ribadu.

    But State Chairman Chief Joel Madaki convened an emergency session of the State Executive Committee(SEC) where it was decided that it would not recommend any aspirant for a waiver – in line with Section 8(a and b) of the PDP Constitutiom.

    Although the SEC  acknowledged Ribadu’s letter to join PDP, it insisted on substantial compliance with the PDP Constitution.

    It alleged that it had it on records that someone collected a membership card for Ribadu, contrary to the laid down regulations of the party.

    A source in Adamawa PDP said: “We got a verbal message from the National Secretariat of PDP to make  a formal request for a waiver for Ribadu but we said we cannot recommend. We can only submit list of members seeking waiver.

    “We have written the National Secretariat of PDP to make its request formal instead of verbal in order to put the precedent that they are trying to lay in a good perspective for posterity.

    “There are conditions for waiver which Ribadu is yet to meet. If we are truly a democratic party, we must abide by the party’s constitution. It appears some forces in the Presidency have decided to override due process. Even at that, there must be some elements of justice.

    “We have also maintained that the case for a waiver cannot be limited to Ribadu alone, if we want to be fair to all. The same gesture ought to be extended to Marwa and Gundiri in order to be fair and just to all.”

    Ribadu has written a letter of waiver to the PDP National Chairman.

    In an August 16 letter, Ribadu said his application would enable him to contest for elective office.

    The letter reads: “I wish to humbly write to apply for a clearance/ waiver to enable me aspire  for position on the platform of this great party.

    “As a fresher in the party, I have duly obtained my membership, paid required dues. I hereby tender photocopies, including my voter’s card for your necessary action.”

    In a separate letter of August 1, Ribadu applied to join the PDP.

    The letter reads:” I wish to humbly apply for membership of this great party- Peoples Democratic Party.  I am  from Bako Ward and a registered voter in this Ward.

    “I shall adhere to the party’s constitution, promptly pay my fees and actively participate in party activities. I shall also take all necessary steps to propagate and execute the aims and objectives of the great party, PDP.  I hope my application will be accepted.”

    He was subsequently given registration number 1933795.

    Already, members of the NWC are divided over the waiver requested.

    A source said: “So far, the National Chairman of PDP has not tabled any request before the NWC for waiver for Ribadu or any aspirant in Adamawa State. He has also not informed any member of the committee.

    “Ideally, we ought to grant Ribadu a waiver before he can obtain the party’s governorship nomination form.

    “Therefore, the issue of waiver is still a one-man business which is known to only Mu’azu.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “Maybe Muazu may bring his proposal for this waiver on Monday to the NWC.

    “We will consider any request on merit. We are determined to reclaim Adamawa State; we will not fritter away this opportunity at all.

    “I hope we will not be repeating  the same mistake in Osun State where the party’s governorship candidate was already pre-determined.

    “Some of us in the NWC are worried because this waiver syndrome may becloud our commitment to free and fair primaries for the 2015 polls.”

    As at press time, it was learnt that there had been pressure on the presidency by some influential Nigerians and businessmen to concede the ticket to Ribadu.

    Another source added: “The party has a major challenge at hand on this waiver palaver.”

    Speaking with our correspondent at about 9pm yesterday, the State PDP Secretary, Mr. A.T. Shehu said: “We got a directive from the National Secretariat to send a list of aspirants who have applied for waiver. We have forwarded the name of three of the aspirants to the National Secretariat. They are Ribadu, Marwa, and Gundiri.

    “Section 8 subsection (a and b) of the PDP Constitution as amended does not empower a state chapter to grant waiver, it is the prerogative of the National Secretariat. There is even no provision for us to recommend or reject request for waiver.

    On the membership of Ribadu, he added: “In fact, the PDP door is open to all because politics is a game of number. But PDP is governed by law and  constitution which anyone coming in must abide by.”

    Speaking with Premium Times in a telephone interview yesterday, APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said he was not disappointed by Mr. Ribadu’s action, but that it merely confirmed the level to which the Nigerian society had degenerated.

    “It makes me sad because it is a very terrible thing. It is a confirmation of the level to which our society has degenerated.

    “For a man of that calibre to fall into that trap because of governorship position is disappointing. There is no problem; we wish him luck.”

    Asked why it was disappointing, the APC national chairman said: “Don’t you see what this represents – that a man of his calibre will fall for the temptation?

    “I hope you understand the point I am making. I am not sad because of the APC, but because it reflects on the condition of the Nigerian elite and the kind of things they fall for.

    “For the APC, there is no problem. People go, people come, but for this nation, it is a very sad commentary. It makes you unhappy.”

    On whether the APC leadership made any effort to dissuade Ribadu from leaving the party, Oyegun merely said, “People spoke with him,” adding “I don’t want to say more than that.” He however said, “The time has come when we should have politicians of principle. We cannot continue like this.

    “The society is sick. We shouldn’t encourage things like this. It indicates democracy is lacking in that party. “For a man of his calibre to say the things he has said on record and still did this, is disappointing. If he had done this six months ago, that would have been understandable. But just because of nomination, you fell for it, even if it is the main election. (Buba) Marwa is there; the Speaker is there.

    “This is rock bottom. Haba wetin! The disconnection is too direct.”

    The APC Adamawa chapter said Ribadu’s defection would not affect the fortunes of the party.

    The state secretary of the party, Alhaji Abdullahi Bakari, said: “The APC in Adamawa is healthy and vibrant; what we are working on now is to have a formidable candidate for the Oct. 11 by-election to recover our mandate.”

  • Adamawa youths vow to resist imposition of Ribadu

    Adamawa youths vow to resist imposition of Ribadu

    Youths in Adamawa State have vowed to resist the imposition of Malam Nuhu Ribadu by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    This followed Ribadu’s  defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP. The pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), it was learnt, may have picked the party’s governorship ticket.

    The youths, under the aegis of the Adamawa Youth Alliance for Change (AYAC), warned the PDP leadership to beware of people like Ribadu, who were coming into the party to cause chaos.

    The group’s president, Mr. Umar lya Gulak, with other leaders, who addressed a news conference in Kaduna yesterday, said: “We are ready to resist any attempt to impose any candidate on us.”

    AYAC said it has endorsed Senator Abubakar Halilu Girei of the PDP.

    It said: “After studying the situation, we have agreed that of all the governorship aspirants, Senator Girei stands out. We are supporting him.

    “Following the impeachment of former Governor Murtala Nyako and the resignation of his deputy, James Bala Ngilari, we have monitored the political activities in the state and have taken a stand.

    “We have also monitored the political calculation and manipulations of those aspiring to govern the state. We have looked at the pedigree of the aspirants.

    “Based on our assessment, we have concluded that  Senator Girei is the most experienced and credible.”

    The group urged the people to ensure that a credible candidate is voted into office.

    “We have seen that credibility in Senator Girei,” it added.

  • Adamawa: Ribadu may bow to pressure to join PDP

    Adamawa: Ribadu may bow to pressure to join PDP

    Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, may join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the governorship election in Adamawa State, it has been learnt.

    The decision followed intense pressure major stakeholders put on him to accept the party’s ticket.

    Also, some extended family members, relations and associates have been asking Ribadu to use PDP as a platform to realise his governorship ambition.

    Adamawa State youths, under the aegis of Concerned Youth for Good Governance, mounted pressure on Ribadu yesterday to defect to PDP for the governorship election.

    A source said relations, associates and friends have been mounting pressure on Ribadu in the last two weeks to join the PDP for the governorship race.

    It was gathered that some of those solicited by the PDP leadership to convince Ribadu had earned the confidence of the former EFCC chief over the years.

    Some of the stakeholders were said to be so desperate that they invoked God’s name to pressurise Ribadu.

    The source said: “From the look of things, Mallam Ribadu may bow to pressure to join the PDP. His inevitable choice is informed by a bigger picture of saving Adamawa State from underdevelopment.

    “The PDP may appear a bitter pill to swallow but the exit of ex-Governor Murtala Nyako has weakened the All Progressives Congress (APC), with most members defecting to PDP.

    “If Nyako had been around, the APC governorship ticket would have been automatic for Ribadu. But the situation in APC in Adamawa State now is that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar is now firmly in control of the party’s structure in the state. Given their antecedents, there is no way Atiku will allow Ribadu to be APC’s governorship candidate.

    “Even if Atiku is forced to concede the APC ticket to Ribadu, he will win, but PDP will control the House of Assembly. We will then have a replica of the situation in Nasarawa State where Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura is at the mercy of the lawmakers.

    “All these calculations make Ribadu’s defection to PDP a fait accompli. He is just waiting for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue guidelines.”

    Also, youths in Adamawa State, under the aegis of Concerned Youth for Good Governance, yesterday mounted pressure on Ribadu to defect to the PDP for the governorship election.

    The youths spoke at a rally and a media briefing at Lelewa Hotel in Yola, the state capital. The briefing was addressed by their chairman, Mallam Isa Toungo.

    The youth leader urged the stakeholders to save Adamawa State from bad governance by giving Ribadu a chance to lead the state on the platform of the PDP.

    He said: “We call on all well-meaning citizens of Adamawa State to support our crusade of saving the state from collapse.

    “In a nutshell, the content of this initiative is to strengthen our corporate existence as a people of the state with historical background living together for over 200 years.

    “As of now, part of the strategies to bring sanity into the state is closely related to bringing in a well-deserved person as its chief executive to steer the state out of the present mess.

    “That personality should be a man of excellent moral background, proper orientation, integrity, unimpeachable character and with a good track record of service. These should be the qualities that would determine the future leadership of our state.

    “It is in the light of the afore mentioned reasons and considering our present political and economic circumstance in the state that we call on Mallam Ribadu to come out and salvage our situation by agreeing to join the PDP and contest the governorship election.

    “As we call stakeholders of the ruling PDP in the state, we assure him of our support and urge him to see all political parties in Nigeria as the same. So, a call to join the largest political party in Africa to bring the desired positive change to the people of Adamawa State has become necessary.

    “This is more so because in the Nigerian political system, parties are only used as platforms for electoral purposes, not for ideological difference.”

    Toungo also explained why Adamawa youths chose Ribadu for the PDP.

  • Amaechi, Fashola, Ribadu, others tackle F G on corruption, insecurity

    Amaechi, Fashola, Ribadu, others tackle F G on corruption, insecurity

    Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), as well as former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday in Lagos declared that the Federal Government is off the course in the fight against corruption in the country.

    They spoke yesterday at the Third Retreat of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    President Goodluck Jonathan, according to them, is not just doing enough to tackle the daily occurence of corrupt practices across the country.

    They also deplored the rising level of insecurity in the Northeast, especially against the backdrop of yesterday’s invasion of Maiduguri by Boko Haram insurgents.

    The Chairman of the NGF, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi, insisted that Nigerians wanted explanation on the alleged missing $20 billion oil money.

    He said that effort by anyone to sweep it under the carpet would not work.

    Exressing shock at yesterday’s invasion of Maiduuri by Boko Haram insurgents, Amaechi said the state of insecurity in the nation had become worrisome.

    He told the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility and deal with the incessant threat to the nation’s stability by terrorists.

    Almakura said: “The issue of insurgency has become a routine in the country. Everyday you wake up to hear that people are slaughtered without any sign that it will abate. Lives are being taken with impunity, nobody is sure of what will happen to him in the next minute.”

    Ribadu said that the tendency by the generality of Nigerians to indulge in corrupt practices would be minimised if leaders lived moderate lives.

    “Show us how to behave and we will follow you. If we have less private jets,we see you live in moderation, we will follow and copy you, “ the former anti-graft boss said.

    He said that corruption was a major threat to development, saying Nigeria would be far better fighting it.

    Ribadu advised state governments to put in place mechanisms to check corruption in their respective states.

    He described corruption as a deep-rooted malaise which could not be fought by centrally-controlled agencies alone.

    He said that the active involvement of the states in the fight against corruption would check leakages and promote development.

    “The states can do more and achieve more in the fight against corruption because they control a substantial amount of development resources.

    “If they leave the fight to centrally controlled agencies alone, we will not get the desired results.”

    On the Maiduguri attack, he said: ”As I am talking to you now, part of Maiduguri is under attack and people are being killed. This is a sad note for our country. I believe security is not what you can restrict to internal mechanism alone. We have reached the level where the country should seek international assistance to end the killings in the country.”

    Governor Fayemi said there would always be a problem “when the gap between abject poverty and inexplicable wealth is so wide as you have it now in the country.”

    He added: ”Any society that has problem with economy always ends up with insecurity. It is unfortunate that after many people were killed recently, the Federal Government still went ahead to host the centenary celebration.”

    Speaking on Building System and Institutions that Prevent Corruption, Governor Fashola said corruption in the country has reached a level where everybody must rise to nip it in the bud.

    His words: “People’s social status is incompatible with their income. They host social parties every weekend, feeding about 150 people and spraying money without recourse to the negative effect.

    “If you can step on your own sweat, something is fundamentally wrong. There is a leakage somewhere that bankrolls the reckless spending. We reward people for no honour achieved. The police are corrupt because their pension had been looted.”

    Governor Oshiomhole urged Nigerians to rise and fight corruption, noting that the dysfunctional effect of corruption is visible in all departments of the country’s national life.

    “If we all judiciously make use of the resources at our disposal, there will be less cases of corruption and those factors that induce corruption will be minimal, “ he said.

    Also speaking, former Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offenses Commission and Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, stressed the need for the political will to fight corruption. Building system and institutions that prevent corruption, he pointed out, should be given adequate attention.

    He said: “When Nuhu Ribadu, former EFCC chairman and I were fighting corruption, we knew it was possible to take anybody to court. But the story is different today. When the former Aviation Minister, Mrs Stella Oduah was accused of corrupt practices, it took government a long time to remove her from office. But in the case of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the President did not waste time to suspend him.”

    He maintained that any person who must be a leader or president must be transparent in the discharge of his duties to the people.

    Prof. Akin Oyebode of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) said: ”It is an unwarranted assault on the nation’s integrity which needs to be fought to the hilt if Nigeria is to survive. While it continues to threaten our national survival, no effort should be spared to bring it to the heel.

    “Nigeria has enough laws and institutions to combat corruption. The architecture of the war against corruption seems adequate even if there might be the need for re-tooling here and there.

    “A situation where anti-corruption agencies are denied the wherewithal to sustain the anti-corruption crusade smacks of a calculated attempt to disembowel and incapacitate them.”

    Also present at the retreat were Senator Bukola Saraki; Governor Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto); Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere; Dep. Governor of Osun State; Grace Laoye-Tomori; Governor Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Governor Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa); Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Moses Adeyemo; Dep. Governor of Ogun State, Segun Adesegun; Prof. Grace Alele Williams; Governor Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Deputy Govenor of Kwara State, Elder Peter Kishira and Governor Abdullazeez Yari (Zamfara).

    In a communique at the end of the retreat, the Governors’ Forum said that the anti-corruption battle should be “anchored on a massive programme of national value-reorientation involving the state sector, private sector and civil society.”

    According to them, the “debilitating impact of corruption on national development and the adverse human development indices requires a concerted effort to combat corruption in both private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy.”

    They added that the fight against corruption “needs strong political will, moral leadership, certainty of sanction and commitment of governors to succeed and pledged to fill the role.”

    On security, the governors reiterated their commitment to “pursue cooperation on security management, including sharing of information and placing emphasis on human security needs of our people.”

    They called for the reintroduction of teacher training colleges across the country as part of the effort to enhance educational quality and access.

    The forum adopted its Strategic Plan for 2014-2016.

  • Open letter: Ribadu backs Obasanjo

    Open letter: Ribadu backs Obasanjo

    Former Chairman of the Economic and Finacial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, declared yesterday that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan was a good development for Nigeria.

    Obasanjo, he said, deserved commendation for saying what other Nigerians lacked the courage to say to the authorities.

    Ribadu, who spoke in Abuja, was confident that the letter would bring something positive to Nigeria in the long run.

    He said the ruling PDP was fighting a lost battle against Nigerians.

    “What is going on today is a war between Nigerians and PDP. People are living PDP because they want to be on the side of Nigerians, going by the level of anti people policies of the party and its impunity amongst others,” the APC chieftain said.

    “Nigerians now understand that PDP is fighting them while APC symbolises the platform for change where every Nigerian of goodwould will actualise their dreams of a united and prosperous nation”

    Ribadu reiterated APC’s commitment to transforming Nigeria and urged those yet to decide to join the train of APC to do so and be part of history.

    “APC will never allow universities to go on strike for months. We will fight corruption for sure and tackle insecurity and the ravaging poverty in Nigeria,” Ribadu said.

  • Fighter of corruption in Nigeria considers next steps

    Fighter of corruption in Nigeria considers next steps

    The cash was handed over in large sacks containing $15 million in $100 bills, bags so heavy that the stoop-shouldered civil servant needed help carrying them.

    James Ibori, the governor of an oil-rich state in southern Nigeria, was so desperate to escape prosecution on corruption charges that he tried to pay off the civil servant, Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s anticorruption commissioner. Mr. Ribadu accepted the money, but it was all a ruse.

    A bespectacled former police officer with the no-nonsense style of a G-man, Mr. Ribadu did not keep the money, a remarkable act in a nation where corruption is endemic. Instead he deposited it in a government bank vault, evidence of Mr. Ibori’s many misdeeds, and in 2007 Mr. Ibori was arrested. Ultimately the charges did not stick — the governor was acquitted by a Nigerian court. He was eventually convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud in Britain, where he had stashed a hefty chunk of the hundreds of millions of dollars of oil money he was believed to have embezzled.

    The outcome of the case is in many ways an emblem of Mr. Ribadu’s career as a corruption fighter in Nigeria, a country Colin L. Powell once called a nation of “marvelous scammers”: a string of partial victories against a seemingly unbeatable foe.

    These days, Mr. Ribadu sits at home in a government-issue villa in this prefab 1980s-era capital, ruminating on his next move.

    At 53, he has been celebrated inside Nigeria and beyond for his five-year tenure as chief of the anticorruption unit, beginning in 2003.

    In that time he built the unit, called the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, into Nigeria’s largest anticorruption agency, with over 1,200 employees in six offices across Nigeria. He successfully prosecuted in 2005 Tafa Balogun, an inspector general of police who had resigned. Mr. Balogun pleaded guilty to failing to declare his assets. Mr. Ribadu arrested Mr. Ibori, the former governor of Delta State, in December 2007. He prosecuted 10 prominent national public figures, including nine governors.

    His reputation gained luster only after he was forced from office in 2008 and into exile after what he said were assassination attempts, after he tried to prosecute corrupt politicians. He was appointed a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington and was also a senior fellow at St. Athony’s College, Oxford.

    He returned to Nigeria to run for president in 2011, but came nowhere near victory, and since then has struggled to find a place in Nigerian public life. He continues to investigate graft, but with a less prominent platform. His report pointing out large-scale corruption and waste in the country’s oil industry, which was published last year, was ignored by the government that commissioned it.

    “One of my very big disappointments,” Mr. Ribadu said intently in an interview here.

    Still, he remains a unique figure, prominent in the political opposition and often named as a possible future candidate for office.

    “For the generality of the people, he is a dogged anticorruption crusader,” said Femi Falana, a prominent Nigerian human rights lawyer. “For the corrupt elements that constitute the political class, they fear him.”

    Since Mr. Ribadu’s abrupt ouster as head of the anticorruption agency, “there is a feeling that the war on corruption is a lost battle,” Mr. Falana said.

    The anticorruption fight appears to be on sabbatical in the garden of Mr. Ribadu’s home here.

    “Most people you will have encountered will want to ‘settle’ you,” the soft-spoken Mr. Ribadu said in an interview in the garden, using a Nigerian term for a bribe. “Up to my last day at work, people were trying to bribe me. That is the shocking thing.” Mr. Ribadu began his career as a street police officer in some of Lagos’s rougher neighborhoods, eventually rising to become the chief prosecutor for the Nigerian police. He speaks with a piercing intensity, sometimes clenching a fist to punctuate a point. He grew up deep in Nigeria’s northern hinterland in the town of Yola. It was a devout Muslim household and a “refuge against pain and injustice” that succored persecuted lepers, he wrote in his autobiography.

    •This story was first published in The New York Times on November 22

  • Our lives are deteriorating, Ribadu cries out

    Our lives are deteriorating, Ribadu cries out

    A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday said the condition of Nigerians is daily deteriorating.

    He said Nigeria needs honest and modern leadership to move forward.

    Ribadu, who spoke at the 2013 Independence anniversary lecture of Shell Club, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said it is time for Nigeria to look beyond oil.

    He said: “In the past 53 years, this country has recorded significant milestones. We have survived severe cold similar to what that saw some countries sneezing to death. We remain standing, though someone wrote that we are standing still! Yes, he could be right! The country is endowed with abundant natural resources and brilliant human capital. Yet, the paradox is there is widespread poverty due to misused resources and untapped potentials.

    “It is therefore true that wherever Nigeria is mentioned, what comes to mind is Boko Haram, oil theft, kidnapping and corruption.

    “Nigeria also lags behind on every world index that signifies progress and development. Our lives are daily deteriorating in a frightening way.

    “This is not to give in to pessimism; I strongly disagree with those writing off Nigeria as a failed country. Agreed, we could do a lot better based on what we have in terms of natural resources and demographic advantages. Nigeria stands on a foundation built by our founding fathers who in their wisdom also salvaged and formed a stack of bricks with which we are to build the nation up. “But the generations following our founding fathers used those bricks only to form ever more insidious fences that divide us across the lines of ethnicities, regions and religions.

    “Nigeria’s problems have been shifted from the actual, which is the collapse of our institutions after many years of military, political and bureaucratic imprudence, to an invented assumption which suggests that our peoples are unwilling to live together.”

    Ribadu said Nigeria needs honest and modern leadership to move forward.

    He added: “However, to drive all these we need honest and modern leadership that could be a rallying point for the citizens, and one that can tame the consuming tides of corruption.