River Governor, Rotimi Amaechi Rubbishes Nuhu Ribadu …Describes Ex-EFCC Chairman’s Move As A Political Suicide

It was in 2011 that the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presented the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu as its Presidential Candidate.
But by the time the dust would clear and the whole process was concluded, the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan was declared as the winner of the election.
Despite that, Malam Nuhu Ribadu continued to move with ACN, which was the leading opposition party, and which later merged with other parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013.
However, the latest move of Malam Nuhu Ribadu to change gear and join the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a rude shock to many, who had expected that he would stick to the progressive ideology and continue to work with the party for a long time to come.
Malam Nuhu Ribadu has since picked a form to contest for the primaries of the PDP for the forthcoming governorship election in Adamawa State.
The Rivers State chapter of APC, in a statement, expressed shock over Ribadu’s movement to the PDP and the alleged unprovoked attack he launched against the Governor of Rivers State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
Ribadu, according to reports, which we gathered he is yet to deny, in justifying his defection to the PDP, allegedly demonised the APC and its leaders, describing Governor Amaechi as someone who “is hungry for power and does not know how to go about it, except with money.”
Rivers APC stated that ‘Ribadu’s outburst is very unfortunate and borne out of ignorance of what the antecedents of Amaechi are. It is on record that during the days of Chief Rufus Ada George as Governor of Rivers State, he offered Amaechi appointment as one of his Commissioners, but Amechi declined and instead nominated his cousin, Sir Celestine Omehia, whom George appointed as the Commissioner for Education. This does not in any way indicate somebody who is hungry for power.
‘While Amaechi, like Ribadu, has exercised his constitutional right to seek election as Governor, his feats, which he rightfully attributes to the grace of God, conclusively prove that he never sought office due to hunger for power but, rather, in order to render service and make the society a better place,’ the party said.
The party maintained in the statement that this is in direct contrast to the conduct of Ribadu, who they said after being presidential candidate of the defunct ACN in 2011, ‘has now stooped so low to buy PDP guber form to contest the governorship of Adamawa State, thereby committing a political suicide and if we still know PDP very well, Ribadu will surely regret this unwise step in a matter of few weeks. And to think that this is the same PDP which Ribadu once described as a den of thieves!”
They then asked that, ‘so, between Amaechi and Ribadu, who should rightly be accused of being hungry for power? Obviously, it is Ribadu, who has just confirmed his position in the league of political prostitutes.’
While they wish Ribadu well in his latest ‘political gamble,’ they advised him to leave Amaechi and APC alone.
“He should preoccupy himself with how to survive among the sharks and wolves that he decided to join after abusing them to high heavens.”
According to the statement, Rivers PDP urged and pleaded with Nigerians not be dismayed or discouraged by the ‘unprincipled step of Ribadu and his likes, but unite and seek solution on how to save our nation from the pains and shame that PDP Government has brought to our nation through the looting of our common patrimony with impunity and turning corruption into an institution and not disparagement of Governor Amaechi or any other progressive leader of our nation.’
They stated further that the PDP Government ‘has destroyed all facets of our nationhood – our education sector is in shambles together with our Health Sector so any sound mind joining or promoting such a party like PDP that have brought so much misery and poverty to our nation is totally out of tune from reality.’
According to them, “Nigerians are aware that the joining of Governor Amaechi and other former PDP Governors to APC have not only brought vibrancy but made APC a better alternative to the evil that PDP represents.”