Adamawa Guber: Ribadu Rejects Primary Results As Fictitious Fabrication

Adamawa Guber:
Ribadu Rejects Primary Results As Fictitious Fabrication

By Billy Graham Abel Yola

The Adamawa born former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu has called on the NWC of APC to reject in totality any result presented supposedly emanating from a non-existent governorship primary held in the state.

Ribadu said there were no primaries held in the state and that any result presented would be fictitious fabrication meant to ridicule the entire electoral democracy as a system and to scuttle the credibility of the entire electoral process.

Nuhu Ribadu made the remarks Saturday, during a press briefing in Yola, Adamawa state.

Nuhu Ribadu cautioned the members of the electoral committee against denting their good image saying any attempt at concocting results for an elections that was not held would cast a negative headline on their image and reputation.

Ribadu said, "You are witnesses to political happenings in Adamawa State in the past week, specifically in relations to the conduct of the governorship primaries of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

"The indirect primaries initially slated for Saturday, October 29, 2018, came with so much confusion and chaos that made me withdraw from the process in protest. 

"Happily, the National Working Committee of the party saw through the crisis at the time and took the right decision of recalling the electoral committee and changed the mode of the primaries from indirect to the much-preferred direct primaries. Stakeholders and our supporters were very happy about that change, leading to spontaneous jubilations across the state. 

"Our preference for direct primaries, right from the beginning, was based on the need to give power to the people and let all party members decide for themselves who to fly the party’s flag, in an open and democratic process. 

"To our shock and amazement, our worst fears were confirmed, as the electoral process was completely hijacked across the state. 

"Thousands of our supporters trooped to all the 226 wards early enough on Friday to exercise their rights. They waited for hours under the sun till the sunset without sighting any official.

"Personally, I visited some of the wards within the metropolis where we met anxious people that were angry at the absence of persons that would coordinate the elections. It is similar report we got from our agents from across the state. 

"The election materials distributed at the local government headquarters were hijacked by government officials and party leaders, who went on to fill out funny figures and return them to the returning officers as results from the wards. Interestingly, there is no media coverage of the so-called conduct of the exercise anywhere in the state."

Ribadu maintained that, "On the basis of these, we demand that the National Working Committee should, as a matter of urgency, step in and save our party from this embarrassing situation, one that is capable of eroding public confidence on the party and its leadership.

"We demand immediate cancellation of the so-called results being announced currently as they are figures cooked up by shameless persons who have no credibility and popularity to withstand free and fair contest. We reiterate that no election has taken place anywhere in Adamawa State and it is therefore impossible to declare any result. 

"The party executives at the wards and local government levels should be immediately disbanded as they have demonstrated their bias and showcased that they cannot be fair and just to all party members."