Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he turned down the idea of appointing former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, as his successor.
El-Rufai first served as the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) during Obasanjo’s administration before being appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, from 2003 to 2007.
After leaving office in 2007, Obasanjo chose to support the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as his successor.
Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the second edition of the annual symposium organised by the Ajibosin Platform, Obasanjo disclosed that former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, had suggested El-Rufai as the person to succeed him.
“Let him tell you. He didn’t mention that. He was pushing when I was leaving government that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor,” Obasanjo said, referring to Chidoka.
Turning to Chidoka, Obasanjo asked, “No be so (Is that not true)?”
Chidoka nodded in agreement.
Obasanjo continued, “I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he said, ‘I suggested this person, why didn’t you agree?’ I said El-Rufai needs to mature. You remember?
“When I left government and, many years later, he saw the performances of El-Rufai, he came back to me and said, ‘You’re absolutely correct. El-Rufai needed to mature.’”
