A large crowd received Mr. Ribadu at the Yola Airport and proceeded with him to the PDP secretariat where party officials welcomed him. At the event, hundreds of people who said they were members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also disclosed that they were decamping to the PDP.
“Today is a happy day for me. I am awed and inspired even further by the cheerful crowd that received me at the airport and which has come with me to this place,” Mr. Ribadu said at the PDP secretariat in Yola. He added, “Whatever way I turn, I feel a sense of boundless happiness at coming home, more so now with a mission to be accomplished, a task dear to the hearts of all the people of Adamawa State. This is therefore not an ordinary day for me, and as indeed it is not for the rest of the patriotic citizens of this State. We are here on the march of history.
“I would like to appreciate those members of the PDP who privately and publicly prodded me to join this party. My appreciation also goes to the leadership of our party for the warm reception accorded me deserving of any full-fledged party stalwart. This kind reception did not begin from today. It began from the day I signified the intention of joining this great party. Today, I come to you as a full blown party member who defines himself in the spirit of community service and party development.”
Stating that his political ambition was tilt towards service, Mr. Ribadu said, “The trigger of me being here today is that passion to uplift that I have; it is that spirit with which I am known, all my life. It is that zeal that saw me going into the police, as against obviously more lucrative career paths. My philosophy, as we were taught, is that one should put the interest of the public over any other consideration. In the life of service, one’s first consideration should be the impact one makes under the circumstance. It is therefore that same will to serve that is responsible for me respecting and answering to the people’s choice to come back home and serve the people of Adamawa State under the platform of the PDP.”
The former EFCC chairman, who in 2011 ran as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), added: “Let me declare that I am here as an ordinary PDP member whose personal aspiration is organically tied to the best aspiration and progress of all people of this great state. I am not here on anyone’s errand. I want to stress the point also that I am here on my own and thus prepare to subject myself to all norms and protocols of the party. I preach respect of law and order and the respect for constituted authorities, anywhere I go. It is a template of my action and conduct. I therefore cannot breach the teachings of my gospel. I anticipate participation in all democratic processes that would lead to the emergence of a candidate for the Party. What I would however appeal for is for the party to also treat all of us as its members with equal rights. We should all be treated with fairness in a transparent manner that is the hallmark of democracy.”
The retired police officer appealed to other governorship contestants to play issue-based politics.
“I would appeal to all political actors in the state, especially my fellow aspirants, to go into the field armed with our rules of engagements. No one’s ambition is worth the peace and stability of our people. We should eschew antagonism or stoking primordial sentiments. Elections would come and go but the people will always be together. Damaging the harmony we enjoy as a people would have dire consequences on all of us and is the gravest disservice anyone can do for our dear state,” he stated.
Ribadu, who said his ambition is tilted towards service, also stated,
Nuhu Ribadu arriving the state secretariat in Yola 
Nuhu Ribadu acknowledge cheers in Yola
No comments:
Post a Comment