Politics as a phase of public service
Ribadu entered electoral politics around the 2011 cycle and contested the Adamawa governorship under the National Transformation Party. He later worked with opposition forces, including the Action Congress of Nigeria, during efforts to build a stronger alternative political platform.
He was associated with the formation and development of the All Progressives Congress, later moved back to the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2015 Adamawa governorship contest, and returned to the APC after the primaries controversy. He conceded defeat in the 2015 election.
By 2019, he was again active in APC politics and sought a senatorial ticket. His subsequent appointment to national-security office shifted his public role back toward executive security leadership.