The former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, has dismissed insinuations that he might have been unsettled by the purported interest of the pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in the Adamawa governorship race.
Gulak, who spoke with reporters in Abuja on Thursday, dismissed Ribadu as a threat to his ambition to vie for the Adamawa State governorship election.
Following the impeachment of the former governor, Murtala Nyako, last month, the scramble for who occupies the exalted seat till the 2015 general election has intensified with speculations rife that some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains, including the national chairman of the party, Dr. Adamu Mu’azu, have approached Ribadu to join the party.
However, Gulak dismissed the purported plan by Ribadu to join PDP for the sole reason of contesting the governorship election on the party’s platform.
The ex- EFCC chairman is still a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I don’t believe Ribadu would jettison his ideals and defect from the APC to the PDP for the purpose of contesting the governorship election in Adamawa State.
“If he is sure of his popularity, he should be ready to contest on the platform of the APC if he so desires, but it is the people that will decide who to govern them.
“However, if he has decided to join the PDP, as it is being rumoured, then he is welcome. But given a transparent process, no politician in Adamawa State today has what it takes to defeat me in any primary election or the election proper.
“It is a matter of one’s popularity with the people because Adamawa of today is far different from what obtained about seven years ago”, Gulak stated.
Gulak, who was Speaker of the Adamawa House of Assembly as far back as 1992, also dismissed insinuations that his removal from office by President Goodluck Jonathan in April, might throw spanner in the works of his ambition, insisting that he was not removed as a result of corruption or any misconduct.
“Since my removal from office I have not been invited by the police, SSS, EFCC or any arm of the security agencies for questioning because I did not commit any crime. I was removed because it was time for me to leave.
“I have been there for about seven years and I discharged my duties creditably well. My support for President Jonathan’s re-election bid remained unshaken because there is no alternative to Jonathan in the PDP”, he said.
