Former governor of Lagos State and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has wished the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) good luck in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).Ribadu, who was the presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) one of the parties that fused into the APC, defected to the PDP recently.
In his first reaction to Ribadu’s defection, Tinubu said in a twitter message that he wished the former EFCC czar luck with President Goodluck Jonathan.
Said he: “Ribadu remains a friend and a brother. He is matured. He remains one who believes in liberty, justice and service. I wish him luck with Goodluck.”
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the PDP in Sokoto State, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, has urged the party leadership to disqualify the Adamawa State acting governor, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintri, from contesting the forthcoming by-election in the state.
Gusau in an interview with journalists said what was happening in Adamawa was akin to a palace coup, likening it to what happened in Egypt, where the military removed a sitting president only for its head to contest and win the presidential election.
His words: “What is happening in Adamawa is a palace coup. The governor and his deputy were removed; the speaker became the acting governor and is now preparing to contest for the same office as if that was how it was planned. This is logically, morally and politically wrong. It is an attack on our democracy.
“Nigerian democracy is heading for the rocks unless the constitution is amended to stop acting governors from contesting by-elections.”
Magaji said what the country needed was sustainable democracy rather than personal aggrandisement, adding that if the situation remained unchecked; it would destroy the nation’s democracy.
“It is like a vicious cycle. It is going to be in all our state Houses of Assembly. Previously, we don’t have an association of members of Assemblies. We don’t have that of the speakers. So, my fear is that other states may borrow a leaf from Adamawa,” Gusau maintained.