Former Head of State retired General Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said former FCT minister and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i prevailed on him to run for president in 2015.
General Buhari who in the past has contested for the office of the president and lost three times and had resolved to quit politics recently declared his intention to run for president on the platform of the APC.
Political analysts had wondered why the change of heart from the general but finally at the Kaduna rally where El-Rufa’i declared his intention to run for Kaduna State governor in 2015, here’s what GMB said.
“I developed cold feet to come and present El-Rufai to you because of the sacrifices which he wanted to make on my behalf which I turned down. He said he would work for me full-time if only I would contest but I told him that if I must contest he must also come out to contest because I believe he has the qualities required to make Kaduna State great again. These qualities are firstly competence, integrity and courage. Whoever is interested in the development of this country must have these qualities. I have seen the way El-Rufai handled Abuja; we know that he loves this country, and he is endowed with these three qualities I have mentioned.”
“So, please people of Kaduna State, I assure you, I am not being arrogant, I am just being honest, if you vote El-Rufai, you are not doing him a favour, but you are doing yourself a favour. El-Rufa’i is a kind of person that will respect you if you respect yourself, and if you don’t respect yourself, he will help you go down the drain.”
General Buhari urged Nigerians that have attained 18 years to register and obtain voters card before the general elections. In his remarks El-Rufa’i said he resolved to run for governor to ensure accountability in public spending.
“We will not, and must not allow the incompetence of the current PDP government to drag us down. The reign of underdevelopment and incompetence must be ended immediately”, he said and advised the electorate to elect credible leaders in 2015.
“The people of Kaduna state have the power to bring about meaningful change. We have the power to free our state from corruption, greed, nepotism and incompetence. That power is guaranteed in your right to vote. And that power must be used judiciously to throw out the gross incompetence being demonstrated by those in authority today. That power is what we must use in 2015 to elect leaders that have the desire and will to move Kaduna State to the path of unity, peace, progress and prosperity”, he added.
He said the state government is being controlled by a group of politicians that haven’t got the interest of the people at heart, adding that selfish politicians in charge of state affairs have done nothing commensurate with the expectations of the citizenry.
El-Rufa’i said the level of infrastructural decay across the state was high and government had no plan for improving the welfare of the people particularly in the rural communities.
