THE former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, has said the attendance of two governors from Niger Republic at the Kano campaign rally of President Muhammadu Buhari is lawful and within their rights.

Ribadu, who is the Director of Field Operations of the All Progressives Congress’ Presidential Campaign Council, spoke on Friday in Abuja at the train-the-trainer workshop of zonal and state coordinators.

Responding to a question, he said, “For your information, it is a free world and it is the constitutional right of everyone to be where he wants to be. You have no right to curtail anybody from doing what he wants to do. People from West Africa are free to move into Nigeria. We have a protocol or agreement that they don’t need a visa to come into this country.

“I know for sure that they don’t have the vote but as free West Africans who believe that someone has done extremely very well and decided to identify themselves with what they believe in, I don’t think there is anything wrong and I don’t think there is any crime committed.

“You cannot and you have no right as a Nigerian to stop them from exercising their fundamental right to identify with their friends. Their presence may or may not have any impact on the re-election but they are entitled to it. We have to guarantee their freedom because their presence is within the law and we don’t have the right to stop them.”

Ribadu explained that workshop was for volunteers who will embark on a house-to-house campaign and serve as voter canvassers for the APC from state to polling units’ level.

He stated that the participants would train other volunteers on get-out-the-vote mobilisation.

Ribadu urged Nigerians to join hands together with the APC to rescue the nation from the sordid past. – Punch

– Feb. 1, 2019 @ 18:45 GMT |