‘El-Rufai Plotting To Be Tinubu, Fayemi’s Running Mate’

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state is strategising to run in 2023 presidential election as Vice President to Bola Ahmed Tinubu or Governor Kayode Fayemi.

This claimed was made by Olusegun Bamgbose, National Coordinator, Concerned Advocates for Good Governance (CAGG) in a chat with Daily Post on Sunday.

Naija News reports that in an interview with the BBC Hausa at the weekend, El-Rufai had said that the South should produce the next president of Nigeria.

He vowed not to support a northerner to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

While denying interest in the 2023 presidency, the Kaduna governor described such insinuations as baseless.

El-Rufai said: “In Nigerian politics, there is a system of rotation, in which everyone agrees that if the north rules for eight years, the south will rule for eight years.

“That is why I came out and said that after President Buhari has been in office for eight years, no northerner should run for office. Let the Southerners also have eight years.”

Reacting, Bamgbose said the statement by the Kaduna governor was a very welcome development.

He said: “It should be recalled, that he had earlier this year, made a similar statement to this effect. We commend him for his altruistic and detribalistic tendency.

“This has shown clearly and convincingly, that he is a man that should be reckoned with in the scheme of things. He is indeed a nobleman.

“History and posterity will remember him for good. He is truly a man of equity and justice.

“We believe he has spoken the mind of the North, as opposed to what Mamman Daura was credited to have said recently, that zoning should be discarded.

“Governor El Rufai is actually a man of Honour. However, the truth of the matter is that Governor El-Rufai is doing his second tenure, and may not want to go for Senate, most likely he is eyeing the office of the Vice President of Nigeria.

“He is a political tactician and strategist. He is strategically positioning himself ahead of time. Whichever you may look at it, the South is taking note of his statement.

“We appreciate his open support for southern Presidency come 2023. He may likely want to run with Tinubu or Fayemi come 2023. We all will meet on the field come 2023.”