Ribadu To Defect To PDP After Getting Presidential Nod

Nuhu Ribadu is set to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reports Vanguard.

The presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2011 election is said to be switching party for the governorship ticket of Adamawa state in the coming election.

Vanguard sources in Yola and Abuja confirmed that necessary steps had been put in place to enable the the former Economic and Financial Crimes Commissioner (EFCC) boss to actualise his ambition of ruling the state on the PDP platform. His defection, according to one of the sources, will be finalised on Thursday, all things being equal.

Ribadu was said to have sought the approval of the president before making up his mind to join PDP, an approval he was said to have gotten last week to assure him a place in the governorship race.

Two meetings were reportedly hosted in Abuja and Kaduna by those delegated by the Presidency to herald Ribadu into the PDP’s fold and assure him that he would be granted waivers to be able to run as its flag bearer.

With everything now seeming to be in Ribadu’s favour, it remains to be seen if the likes of Ahmed Gulak, former Special Adviser on Political Matters, who said he left the office for Adamawa governorship race will tone down in the coming days, or if the entry of Ribadu into the PDP will herald the birth of factions and crisis capable of tearing the party apart in the state.

One of the PDP aspirants in the state re-run election, Barrister Awwal Dahiru Tukur, has also said there are no pressures on him to step down for Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, saying, “I have not withdrawn and I am planning to declare my intention to contest for the party primary in the upcoming bye election.

He added that PDP would not allow any imposition of candidate in the bye-election.