Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu has accepted the verdict of the Court of Appeal which recognised Senator Aishat Binani as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State.
Ribadu said this in a letter he wrote to the acting state chairman of the APC which was seen by WesternPost.
He said he has allowed status quo to remain and would not appeal the court ruling at the Supreme Court.
“As you are aware, the Court of Appeal had given its judgment on the dispute arising from our governorship primaries, which went against the prayers we made in the suit I instituted. Since then, I have been in consultation with my family, political associates and party leaders at different levels on the next step.
“In addition, I have reflected deeply on my mission in politics, especially my aspiration for Adamawa governorship. My motivation in aspiring to govern the state is for an opportunity to serve my dear state as my contribution for a more purposeful future for the state. It was a project started at the instance of well-meaning friends and associates who prodded me with the believe that I have the experience and wherewithal that could be of tremendous help to leapfrog the development of our state.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank those well-wishers and my teeming supporters who sacrificed a lot and offered unflinching support for the tremendous goodwill and immense support I received from them over the years.
“This is my second attempt to pick the ticket of our party. In 2019 I offered myself but missed the opportunity to become the candidate of my party. It is however on record that to show good spirit of sportsmanship and protect the interest of my party, the APC, I buried the hatchet to work for the person who picked the ticket and supported him to the end, in spite of opposition against that stance from some of my supporters.
“I decided to give it another shot this time around, driven by the same motive. At the end of the governorship primaries, held on May 26, 2022, our agents reported clear cases of breach of law and irregularities. This fact was confirmed by the reports of the Police, INEC and the Appeal Committee of the party, but no internal redress came forth. It was for this reason that we approached the court to seek justice. The Federal High Court agreed with us, but it decided to declare that the party had no candidate, which was not what we prayed for. In its judgment, the Court of Appeal, however, reinstated the candidate declared winner of the primaries. We disagree with the judgment but I have no intention of dragging this any further.
“I have decided to allow the status quo remain for the larger interest of the party and its unity.
“As a true party man, I call on all my supporters to not despair but to remain faithful to our party. We should not let any setback affect our enthusiasm and support for our great party. I call on all my supporters to support all our candidates.
“I also specifically express my deep appreciation to the state leadership of the party under your leadership for the support and encouragement, and urge you all to remain steadfast in the service of our party,” he said in the letter.
