As the race for the number one seat in Nigeria gets tense, Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai has said he is not interested in becoming the president of Nigeria come 2023.
El-Rufai said this when he was reacting to questions on Politics Today on Channels TV on Wednesday.
According to him, the noise around his intention to run with the former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi is not true.
He however said Amaechi is free to contest for any position he chooses to as a qualified Nigerian.
” See, I am not contesting for any post including the president of Nigeria come 2023. I have heard so many stories about Amaechi/El-Rufai ticket. This is a lie. It is not in my plan to contest for any post. I have a job to deliver good democratic dividends to my people in Kaduna state and this remains my focus.” he said
El-Rufai said age is no more on his side stressing he will be clocking 63 years old next year. He added that he had over worked himself to the brick as the governor of Kaduna state in the last seven years.
On whether president Buhari can ask him to contest, El-Rufai said ” I will have to sit down with the president to convince him why it is not possible. But if he insists, I will have to do his wish. For instance, I didn’t plan to contest as a governor of Kaduna State, but the president asked me to run then and I obeyed him”.
Talking about his successor, El-Rufai said he has no anointed candidate to succeed him after May 2023. But noted that though he has a preference for someone, but he will not force any candidate on the party.
He assured Nigerians and APC members that the party’s convention slated for March 26th will be held successfully as the Governor Buni’s led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has been dissolved following alleged hidden ambitions.
