James Onanefe Ibori would not want to remember
the day he chose to leave the shores of Nigeria in
the bid to evade arrest by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission. That escape bid did
not only cost him his freedom, it has turned him
into a prisoner in far away United Kingdom.
Before his ‘costly’ escape, Ibori was among the
power brokers in the country. As a governor of the
oil-rich Delta State, Ibori was one day in company
with the then Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky
Igbinedion, at Lagos Airport. It was learnt that a
photographer who had taken his photograph had
laid ambush for him at the airport. As soon as Ibori
saw the big portrait, he looked at Igbinedion and
smiled with contentment. With a hand placed on the
shoulder of his Edo counterpart, a broad smile
suggesting arrogant infallibility lighted up Ibori’s
face. Ibori was correct to feel infallible because he
controlled immense powers before the cookie
began to crumble. Before the turn of events, Ibori,
who was known as the ‘Sheik’ of Nigeria, was a
regular caller at the Presidential Villa even when he
was out of office. He was said to be one of those
that provided the funds that installed the late
President, Umaru Yar’Adua. However, the sudden
death of Yar’Adua turned the powerful Ibori into a
fugitive in the villa as the new occupier, President
Goodluck Jonathan, haunted him out of power
equation and eventually, the country.
The case that ultimately landed Ibori in jail was
initiated by the then former Chairman of the EFCC,
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. He also presided over the
investigation of the case that made Igbinedion an
ex-convict today. Looking at the array of top
leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party whose
Ribadu’s EFCC investigated and got convicted for
corruption, he must have thought he would never
take cover under the umbrella of the party that
produced such men. This could be the reason why
he decided to join the defunct Action Congress of
Nigeria.
In December 2013, Ribadu, after reflecting on the
mass defection that rocked the PDP was happy
that he belonged to the All Progressives Congress.
Speaking with journalists in Yola, the capital of
Adamawa State, he said the reason Nigerians were
defecting from the PDP to the APC was due to the
public’s realisation that the ruling party was at war
with them.
Ribadu had said, “Nigerians should not be deceived
by the aspersions and mischief being promoted by
the PDP leadership against the APC, calling it an
old wine in a new bottle. What they are saying is
not true, they are blinded by their desperation to
cause confusion because of the wind of change
currently blowing in the country.” He added that
those who were defecting from the party were
“leaving the failed party that has relegated their
aspirations to the background to a party that will
salvage them from the current lacklustre
government.”
Now, Ribadu has united with the party he described
as an unsuccessful political party. Were Ibori to be
around, he (Ibori) would have probably joined the
league of those that would welcome him to the
party he once loathed.
In the party, the former presidential candidate is
expected to rub shoulders with the likes of a
former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha, who he also got convicted. Today,
the former governor who is one of the ‘godfathers’
of President Jonathan has received pardon from
his former deputy who sits atop the affairs of the
country.
If Ribadu wins the governorship election in his
home state of Adamawa on the platform of the
ruling party, he will join some of these men as
members of the re-election campaign team of the
President.
Those he also accused of corruption and are today
occupying top positions either in the party or in
elective positions are waiting for him. Fortunately,
some of them are members of the National
Executive Committee of the party, which is its
highest decision-making organ.
One of such is the Governor-elect of Ekiti State,
Mr. Ayodele Fayose. By virtue of the constitution of
the party, Fayose is a member of the PDP NEC. He
is currently undergoing trial for corruption, but his
election has fuelled speculations that the anti-
corruption agency would drop charges against him.
The commission has, however, dismissed this as a
mere rumour. The agency’s Head of Media and
Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, says the recent
election of Fayose has not affected his trial at the
Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, for alleged
corruption.
Uwujaren said the case would go on, adding that
the immunity clause in the constitution only applies
to the President, the Vice-President, sitting
governors and their deputies, and not governors-
elect. He said, “The trial is still going on; it is
continuing at the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti. It is
the court that would decide whether the case
would be discontinued or not; all arguments will be
canvassed in court and it is the court that would
decide.” Like a patient dog, Fayose, who has
repeatedly denied complicity in the case of
financial mismanagement being prosecuted by the
EFCC, is calmly waiting till October when he would
assume office and then wear the garment of
immunity. That will put his trial on hold for four
years.
In his new party, Ribadu is also expected to rub
minds with a former governor of Taraba State, Rev.
Jolly Nyame, whom the Supreme Court said must
face criminal trial over alleged stealing of N2.4bn
while in office. The apex court, in making the
order, dismissed an appeal brought by the former
governor seeking to quash the 41-count of stealing
and money laundering preferred against him by the
EFCC. Nyame was a three-time governor in the
state, starting from 1992 to1993 and 1999 to 2007.
Though he had left the ruling party for the Labour
Party, a former Governor of Plateau State, Senator
Joshua Dariye, is also making efforts to return. He
had sent a letter to the national leadership of the
PDP, asking that he be allowed to use the party’s
platform to return to the Senate where he and other
108 members are making laws for the country.
Dariye was among those who the EFCC on the
watch of Ribadu investigated and indicted for
corruption. He is still facing a six-count for
corruption at an Abuja High Court for allegedly
embezzling the sum of N700m state funds.
It is also not clear if Ribadu would be at ease being
under the same umbrella with the former governor
of Enugu State, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani,
whose case for alleged corruption and money
laundering is still pending. The ex-governor was
indicted by the EFCC for allegedly stealing close to
N6bn from the treasury of Enugu State. He was
alleged to have bought several houses and
invested in several businesses with the money.
Whether the new-found ideology of Ribadu would
also tally with that of a former Governor of Jigawa
State, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, who was once
declared wanted by the anti-graft commission,
remains unclear. Specifically, Turaki was declared
wanted by the EFCC in connection with an alleged
N36bn fraud in May 2013. “You are hereby
commanded to arrest the said Ibrahim Saminu
Turaki and bring him before the Federal High
Court, Dutse, Jigawa State without delay,” the
commission said while declaring him wanted.
Ribadu, who was described as a man who does not
take riba (bribe) by a former Governor of Osun
State, Chief Bisi Akande, will also meet other
notable politicians whose corruption cases have
been inconclusive for years under the Jonathan
administration.
They include four former governors Gbenga Daniel,
Adebayo Alao-Akala, Aliyu Akwe Doma, and
Muhammed Danjuma Goje, for allegedly
misappropriating N58bn, N25bn, N18bn and
N12.8bn respectively.
May be as a result of the reports he gets from the
field, Ribadu himself has said he is aware how
thorny his decision to defect and intermingle with
his new political associates could be. He writes on
his Facebook page that “I know how difficult it may
be for you to come to terms with my defection to
another party. But I must assure you that it’s a
carefully considered decision for which I do not
wish to hurt anyone’s feeling.” His new friends are
already welcoming him. One of whom is a former
Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs,
Mr. Ahmed Gulak. He said Ribadu is welcome to
the ruling party since he has “decided to
summersault and eat his vomits.”
It is, however, with sadness that the National
Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,
bade him farewell. He told our correspondent that
Ribadu’s decision to join the ruling party was “a
confirmation of the level to which our society has
degenerated.” He said, “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.”
He may need more than that to survive in the party
and also preserve his integrity.

www.punchng.com/politics/ribadu-and-his-new-friends/

Ribadu is now eating in the company of those he has sent to the gallows. I call that shit Karma.