El-Rufai makes fresh case for South, denies presidential ambition

The Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai has backed the calls for the people from the Southern part of the country to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in 2023.

El-Rufai who disclosed this during an interview on the Hausa Service of BBC, also debunked claims that he was nursing a presidential ambition in 2023.

“The southern part of the country is supposed to produce the president come 2023. I don’t support a northerner to vie for the seat after President Muhammadu Buhari, based on Nigeria’s political arrangement,” he said.

He said although the power rotation arrangement runs contrary to the constitution, it is a political exigency that deserves to be respected by all parties.

“I believe that (there is) no developed country across the world that considers leadership based on where someone comes from.

“However, in Nigerian politics, there is an arrangement that we all believe in rotational leadership. We are aware of that. Anyone who denies that is wrong,” he said.

The governor said although he supports power rotation at the national level, he is opposed to it in his state because “in Kaduna, I don’t work with people because they came from a particular zone. Rather, I work with you based on your capacity to deliver on a task given to you and your ability to keep public trust.”

He spoke on the heels of a similar interview granted by President Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura, who said merit rather than zoning should be the sole factor for picking Nigeria’s president.