[size=14pt]Ribadu to emerge as AC presidential candidate[/size]

Musikilu Mojeed
July 8, 2010 11:15PM



If the Action Congress and its new coalition partners stick to their plans, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, will fly the flag of the new Action Congress of Nigeria in the 2011 presidential election.
NEXT learnt yesterday that AC top brass as well as some chieftains of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Democratic Peoples Party, All Nigeria Peoples Party, and Congress for Progressive Change have in the past weeks engaged in a series of meetings and negotiations expected to culminate in the drafting of Mr. Ribadu into the presidential race. The National Conscience Party, led by Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, is expected to join the coalition.
Our sources said at several meetings held in Abuja and Lagos by the group, it was agreed that Mr. Ribadu was the strongest and the most credible candidate that could be fielded by the opposition to dethrone the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

No decision has been taken on who Mr. Ribadu’s running mate would be.

Leaders of the coalition, it was learnt, met with Mr. Ribadu during his visit to Nigeria from his Washington base in June. Another delegation from the group also reportedly met the former EFCC chairman in Washington to pressure him to shun offers of appointment from President Goodluck Jonathan and return home to participate in the political process.
The former police officer is expected back in Nigeria later this month, during which arrangements for his formal declaration for the presidential race would be finalised.
Mr. Ribadu’s candidature might alter Nigeria’s political equation. The country is dominated by the PDP, which has been in power since 1999 when the nation returned to constitutional democracy.

The ruling party is still bickering over whether it should retain a zoning formula, which allows the presidency to be rotated between the North and the South.
Before zeroing in on Mr. Ribadu, others considered by the group for the presidential ticket were a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir el-Rufai; a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2007 election, Pat Utomi.
“But after extensive discussions, we decided that Ribadu is our best bet,” a member of the coalition said. “If he agrees to run, that will be great for our country. He is a credible and energetic young man who will do well. All we want to do is to enthrone credible and efficient leadership for our country.”

When contacted yesterday, Mr. Ribadu was evasive on whether he would contest the 2011 election or not.
“Whether I will run or not is a decision for another day,” he said. “But I will quickly add that what Nigeria needs is good leadership that the people believe in, that will bring the people together, provide stability, security, justice and peace.
“We need a leadership that will not allow wastage of our resources. I agree with the Greek proverb that says a society grows great when all men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. People should be willing to selflessly serve their country without wanting anything in return,” he said.

On whether he has been contacted by the Action Congress coalition, Mr. Ribadu laughed and said, “I don’t want to single out any one group. I have been in constant touch with a lot of Nigerians of all shades and opinions who mean well for our country.”

Selling the candidature

The National publicity secretary of the AC, Lai Mohammed, could not be reached yesterday, but he had told journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday that the new Action Congress of Nigeria would unveil its presidential candidate, who will not be older than 50, at the end of this month.
Mr. Ribadu will be 50 in November.
Mr. Mohammed and some party chiefs have reportedly been travelling round the South West region to sell Mr. Ribadu’s candidature and planned coalition to party members in the zone.
A visit to the five other geopolitical zones, NEXT learnt, will follow in the weeks ahead.

Before arriving at the candidature of the anti-corruption activist, our source said the group also considered former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari. But he was reportedly ruled out after some participants in the negotiations argued that Nigerians might be reluctant to vote for former military dictators believed to have brought Nigerians to its knees.
“There are those who also argued that Mr. Buhari is yet to, and may not embrace democratic tenets, being a former military ruler,” said a source who did not want to be named. “But the greatest factor against Buhari is that he is not sellable to Christians and to people in the South who still consider him a religious zealot.”
He said the team was already reaching out to the former head of state to drop his presidential ambition and support the candidature of Mr. Ribadu.
“Buhari is a good man. He has done his best for our country. But what we are saying is that it is time for him and his likes to allow fresh blood to take charge of our country. He should give others a chance.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5591660-146/ribadu__to_emerge_as_ac.csp

hehe

It seems he like going to exile cuz GEJ will just dust his file and send his dog Waziri after him.

TELL THEM I SAID NO.  ORO WA NI IWE KOBO.

The AC would not be stupid to pick him. He can not win.

E so fu chief Bola tinubu won gbo do mu. Gbo gbo wo lo ma ti mo le . inu ejo le.

If he does agree to run, i will happily cast my vote for him and i see an end to corrupt practices in our beloved Country

Becomrich0:

TELL THEM I SAID NO. ORO WA NI IWE KOBO.

Becomerich whats the problem now, so who do you want GEJ?

ladi, Ribadu ko gbo do de pe. Oro wa ni iwe kobo.

Ribadu would betray his people. And they would end up minority. he has been going around tell people in the west, that north would be minority.

Walahi. No ribadu. Ko gbo do de be. We make the north majoiry is the only option. Ribadu does not believe the north should become majority by cutting of the Yorubas,edo,delta and Yorubas should not vote for him. Yorubas should not vote for anyone who does not share in this believe.

Only a person that strong believe they should cut off the Yorubas,edo,delta to make the north majority should be made president.

Becomrich, i no know why you don dey say yoruba, edo and co should go to Benin, but if Ribadu believes north should be a minority thats good, plus i know he will help reduce corruption which is preventing our growth/development.

All yoruba people should vote for Ribadu and becomrich forget about Benin its not happening

[size=20pt]A winning combination will be

Ribadu/Fashola[/size]

I hope this is true.Nigeria will finally be on it's way to  greatness.

AC would not win if they pressent Ribadu. 

Why would fashola want to be vice president to Ribadu. Ribadu can not win an election. That why they are trying to trick AC , do you think AC people are mumu.


AC would not pick Ribadu.

Tell AC I said so.

   Only a person that believe that we must make the north majority should become president , so that we can have peace. All this self seeking people who do not care for average person or the north should not be president.

I do not hate the north, Nuhu ribadu does not care for his people enough, anyone who want the north to be minority should not be president . we have to remove the yorubas,edo,delta or bayelsa to have peace. We must do every human possible to make the north majority. We have to avoid a civil war. The satellite pictures would bring civil war. we are better keeping what we have than loss it in a war.

Nuhu ribadu is a no no.

Civil war might be the right antidote.

wise choice there by ac but gej still remains the man.

Hmm. . . Pragmatic choice (he is more widely known than the other options on the list). Especially interesting when you consider the other candidates they allegedly deliberated. Could this finally be the beginning of a credible opposition in Nigerian federal politics?

presido1:

It seems he like going to exile cuz GEJ will just dust his file and send his dog Waziri after him.

That will simply not happen, Nigeria belongs to nobody neither is it anybody's divine right to be the sole candidate.

we should be not be over riden by emotion. it is not going to work. nigeria is not a small country.

ribadu cant win an election yet in the contemporary Nigeria social political setting,he should only queue behind a near credible govt like that of GEJ. Joe may not entirely credible. but he is still better and i believe GJ can deliver optimally

shagari - ekwueme 1979 - 1983 good governance
yar adua - jonathan 2007 - 2010 good governance
obasanjo - atiku 1999 - 2007 very bad govt
to get another good combination therefore, a ribadu - chidichris govt will bring the much anticipated changes.
vote ribadu, vote myself and we will be there.

let ribadu get me involved as his vice and you will see how we will change this country to a great country.

^^^dude, what have you be sniffing on this morning?.

If PDP refuses to give GEJ the ticket at the primary, then a Ribadu's AC candidature won't be a bad idea to sell in the south.

It will be tight though if PDP fields GEJ and AC fields Ribadu, here the perception of their VP might tilt the scale.

Ribadu? Lolz
AC pls do and loss, so your little power will die just as it happened after 2003 (do u rem that party?)

the only way ribadu can win is by fielding me as his vice while the only way he will loose will be by not using me as his vice.
our partnership will be a made in heaven partnership.
if ribadu is coming as ac candidate, where will his father(obasanjo) be? ac or pdp still? i think we better think very well. did ob asanjo b ring him back to destroy his structures?

good political calculation for AC. If Jonathan emerges as PDP flagbearer, the north would feel betrayed and will vote for any other northerner in the race which gives Ribadu the edge he needs if he can do just one more thing : lick IBB's ass.
Ribadu's name sells in the South too, he will just need another progressive minded and politically dexterious southerner, e.g Donald Duke, Fashola or Pat Utomi-any of these 3 will do.

they should however not hold their convention until after PDP's convention

olafolarin:

Civil war might be the right antidote.

we've had a taste of it before and it didnt solve the problem. .  .how many more deaths do you wanna see ? Huh

jimmysho:

we should be not be over riden by emotion. it is not going to work. nigeria is not a small country.

how do you know it's not going to work when you are being sentimental yourself.we are tired of pdpd and their agenda.what difference would jonathan make when he's going to operate according to pdp manifestoes.from obj to yaradua and now,goodluck. . . The same old shizz.
We need strong opposition party for a successful democracy to work in this country.credible people shouldnt be shut out of the race because they are not pdp members.i would cast my vote for ribadu anytime. .

that will be a good idea if AC adopts that.

Good idea but doubt he'll run against GJ

While Ribadu/Fashola would have been a great combination, it will be better to pick someone from the Niger Delta to partner with Ribadu so that the ND people will not feel let down. Someone from the ND that has a strong connection with the South East would be better. Yorubas will still vote for Ribadu even if Fashola is not his running mate, moreover, we still need Fashola in Lagos for four more years.

The Chances of AC winning is very low, even with Ribadu. Except if Jonathan fails to contest.

Ribadu can only compete with the likes of Atiku and Babangida in PDP

funmi2010:

The Chances of AC winning is very low, even with Ribadu. Except if Jonathan fails to contest.

Ribadu can only compete with the likes of Atiku and Babangida in PDP

Dont rule out the fact that the north can swing their votes in favour of one of their own considering how painful it will be to them if PDP jettisons the zoning arrangement.

G.Jonathan can only convince Nigerians that he is not same of the same only if he drop the idea of spending 10billion naira for Independent celebration. If not Ribadu will be a better candidate

funmi2010:

The Chances of AC winning is very low, even with Ribadu. Except if Jonathan fails to contest.

Ribadu can only compete with the likes of Atiku and Babangida in PDP

can you please tell me how jonathan is better than ribadu ? Pdp has never won any election credibly and if the 2011 election is to be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere,ribadu will beat jonathan hands down.

bluetooth:
can you please tell me how jonathan is better than ribadu ? Pdp has never won any election credibly and if the 2011 election is to be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere,ribadu will beat jonathan hands down.

I doubt if you understand how elections really go. Pdp is bad , but the point is , it is not true that they always rig to win expecially the presidential election. party structure and general visibility is key to winning a presidential election. I cant speak for governorship elections.

I know votes were inflated in yaradua's favour in the last election, but the truth is he was always going to beat the other candidates.

Ac does not have the structure win a presidential election, forget all this one-ward parties that are talking about coalition.