Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Nuhu Ribadu has formally declared to seek the Adamawa State governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with a vow to rid the state of corruption if he gets the ticket and goes on to become governor.
Delivering his governorship aspiration speech to the APC leadership at the party secretariat in Yola on Saturday, Nuhu Ribadu said his mission was to replicate in Adamawa State the fight against corruption by the Muhammad Buhari-led federal government.
He said, “In this drive to change Nigeria, I believe our president needs support of individuals with similar vision, especially at the sub-national level. It is not enough to have a reformed federal government and an honest and sincere president; this has to be replicated at other tiers of government for us to have all-encompassing progress.”
He reiterated that Adamawa State needed a forthright leadership, “A leadership that will not lie, a leadership that will not deceive, a leadership that will not put its interests over and above the interest of the entire state.”
Nuhu Ribadu is called Mr Integrity by his admirers around Adamawa State because of his famed intolerance for corruption which he demonstrated while at the helm of the EFCC. He first sought to be governor of Adamawa State in 2015 and many now express the view that he failed in that bid because he opted for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) when the Buhari factor was decidedly for an APC candidate.
Ribadu who has long collected and submitted his nomination forms, was by Saturday’s declaration the third governorship aspirant of the APC still in the race to formally present himself to the party and the people of Adamawa State for consideration for the office of governor.
Dr Mahmood Halilu Ahmed who is Aisha Buhari’s brother and incumbent Governor Mohammed Umar Jibrilla Bindow are the other two. Mr Markus Gundiri who earlier declared intention to run for the office under the APC, has stepped down for Mahmoud Ahmed.