PDP, A Monster To Be Defeated —Ribadu

By Simon Ateba

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, presidential aspirant, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,  has described the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, as a monster that will be defeated in this year’s general elections.

Ribadu, in an interview published in this week’s edition of TheNEWS magazine, predicted that the 2011 election will mark a different type of transition in  Nigeria, “the type that we have never seen before.”

He said Nigerians are aware that the money being used by the PDP candidates to buy space in the media and hoodwink the public that they are popular is stolen  money, adding that they will be rejected.

Ribadu disclosed that the ACN is in consultation with other opposition parties in the country to confront and defeat the PDP nationwide, adding that it is  the best strategy to challenge a party that has cornered all the resources in the country.

He said: “I have worked so hard to bring all the other progressives together. I have been in constant touch with the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA;  the Labour Party and so many other parties.

“ACN is in talks with the Congress for Progressives Change, CPC. We are trying to tell the All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, to come. Together, we can make a  difference for our people if we are honest about Nigeria. Then, there is nothing that can stop us from being together so that we can confront this monster we  call the PDP. Because, PDP to be honest, I don’t know if they have won elections honestly and fairly because we can all see what the courts are doing now.”

Ribadu also unveiled his manifesto to Nigerians, saying that he will pay attention to education, health, infrastructure and power sectors if elected  president.

According to the former anti-corruption czar, the government must invest heavily in these sectors and rid them of corruption.

“It is very easy (to fix the power sector),” Ribadu said.

He added: “First and foremost, (you must) run a transparent and honest government. You as the leader cannot afford to be a corrupt person. Kick corruption  out of that strategic sector, don’t allow it to come closer to it, nobody should be allowed to ‘eat’ from the money that is supposed to be used to supply us  power.

“So, I will clean up that sector, corruption will not have place there. Whoever is given the contract must perform; Nigerians must get value and will get  value because it is their money. I will make sure that we get value for the money that we have spent, or else I will get it back.”

Ribadu said that while the country has not done badly in infrastructure development, maintenance has remained its bane.

“The road network in Nigeria is vast, but it is not maintained properly and it has turned out to be like death traps and unfortunately we have lost so many  lives. It is also an area that has not been getting consistent investment to meet with the demand,” Ribadu said.

He said that the educational sector in the country has virtually collapsed, adding that “we are writing off the future of Nigeria in the next 10, 20 years.”

“Our educational sector has continued to go down. The quality is unbelievably bad today. But the ruling party is not talking about it. All that the Federal  Government and the PDP are talking about is zoning, about how to retain power. Just imagine, 80 per cent of SSCE students failed,” Ribadu said.

Ribadu said that those arguing that he is ungrateful for contesting the presidential election against President Goodluck Jonathan, are ignorant.

“Umaru Yar’Adua said he dismissed me, but God took his life, Jonathan came, he retired me without giving me one single reason for doing so up till now. The  PDP government has done that to me despite all that I did for this country. So I don’t know whether I should be grateful to people who retired and dismissed  me without giving me any reason up till now or not,” he said.

Ribadu’s derision of the PDP came as stalwarts are leaving the party in droves. P.M.NEWS learnt that the defection has to do with imposition of candidates  and manipulation of the party’s primaries by godfathers in the PDP.

Meanwhile, Ribadu has explained that he joined ACN because it is not an ethnic party.

“I have joined the ACN for a couple of reasons, but fundamentally, I have identified a couple of people in the ACN as progressives and I am one of them. I  relate fairly well with a lot of people in the ACN. I have also joined them because I cannot join PDP and the other parties are engaged more like in  ethnic-or religion-based politics, which I do not fit into. I am a true Nigerian. I want a Nigeria where we can be truly one,” Ribadu said.

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