Now that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has declared his intention to contest for the
\ngovernorship of Adamawa state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic
\nParty (PDP); the Adamawa political scene has changed. Thus, poster and
\nbriefcase politicians who were waiting for the PDP governorship ticket to
\nbe given to them on a platter of gold will have to work for it. In
\naddition, those segments of the society which were hitherto indifferent to
\nthe political scene because of the absence of new and reliable candidates
\nare now reawakened.<\/p>\n
Almost all the contestants for Adamawa PDP governorship ticket; their
\nsupporters and godfathers are now jittery because of Ribadus entry into
\nthe race. Their fears are genuine and understandable\u00e2\u20ac\u201clike some people
\nthink- Nuhu will be given an automatic ticket- no primaries.<\/p>\n
Hitherto, most of the contestants have not put on ground serious campaign
\nstructures- they were waiting for Abuja to bulldoze the way for them. Out
\nof the blue! Abuja is now looking the other way. So, they are now
\ngroaning. One of the contestants was even quoted saying Nuhu needs a
\nwaiver. Nuhu Ribadu is joining the PDP, not rejoining. He does not need
\nany waiver. Chapter II part 1 of the PDP constitution (2012 as amended) is
\nvery explicit- admission into membership and procedure for rejoining are
\ntwo different things.<\/p>\n
Nuhu is well-cultured, well-read and has integrity to jealously protect-
\nthus, the general belief is that he wont use this opportunity to deny
\nother contestants the opportunity to test their popularity.<\/p>\n
Despite having the support and encouragement from those whom each of other
\ncontestants needs dearly, Nuhu must work for a level playing field to
\nallow PDP delegates to decide their flag-bearer, because, first, at the
\nend of the day, the flag bearer needs the support of other contestants,
\nand second, to show that he indeed believes in the values he fought for,
\nof which transparency and equality are prominent.<\/p>\n
Many factors were responsible for drafting Ribadu into the contest on the
\nplatform of the PDP. First, a lot of stakeholders in Adamawa state have
\ncome to the conclusion that Adamawa need a paradigm shift in terms of
\ndevelopment. Secondly, the state needs a governor that is relatively
\nyoung, incorruptible, committed, well-read, urbane, with a clean record
\nand one that has the capacity to leapfrog the states development to
\nwhere it is supposed to be. Nuhu possesses these qualities.<\/p>\n
Apart from the aforementioned, there are also some salient political
\nfactors that necessitated the drafting of Ribadu into the race. There is a
\ngeneral consensus that Adamawa central should produce the next governor
\nand Nuhu is the perfect candidate from that zone. Though there are other
\nwell-qualified candidates, considering the present political and economic
\natmosphere, Nuhu is the best.Another factor is, the PDP has realized
\nits big errors- the Murtala Nyako error for instance- Nuhu has the mind to
\ncorrect such errors.<\/p>\n
Some observers are of the view that, if Nuhu is good, must PDP be the
\nvehicle for him to be governor? Nuhus immediate constituency, his
\nsenatorial zone, most of his friends and peers and indeed Adamawa state
\nare overwhelmingly PDP, so naturally he should be in the PDP.<\/p>\n
However, the battle will not be easy for Ribadu both at PDP primaries and
\nthe main elections. Other contestants will put up a fierce fight for
\ndelegates votes or for juicy political compensation. On the other hand,
\nthe APC with Atikus guidance will present a sophisticated counter-move
\nto get massive support from some segments of Adamawa people. The APC would
\nalso use the Adamawa central card, but with an additional political
\nmove- its candidate will be from Adamawa central, but may be different
\nfrom Nuhu in terms of tongue and faith.<\/p>\n
The advantages Nuhu Ribadu has are: he is naturally charismatic, young,
\nwell-read, urbane and clean hands. He also has a higher chance of
\nwinning the elections on the platform of PDP than APC because the PDP is
\nwell rooted in the state. The recent woes of APC in the state too would
\nwork against them.<\/p>\n
Nuhus superb qualities further give him and whichever partys flag he
\nbears, an edge over every other candidate and party. So, with the current
\npolitical and economic situation in Adamawa state, Nuhu Ribadu is the
\nformula for any political party to win the October 11 governorship
\nelection- the PDP is smart to quickly grab the opportunity.
\nZayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Adamawa State, zaymohd@yahoo.com,
\n08036070980. He blogs at www.zayyaddp.blogspot.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Now that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has declared his intention to contest for the governorship of Adamawa state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); the Adamawa political scene…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n