Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that he was reluctant to contest the 2015 governorship election but was compelled to do so by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
El-Rufai, in an interview with Arise Television on Monday, stated that he never had political ambitions and was initially unwilling to run for office.
“You don’t need to have an ambition. Actually, I have never had an ambition in politics. I didn’t want to be governor. President Buhari—you can ask him anytime—more or less forced me to run for governor of Kaduna State. I was afraid of running because I had never run for office,” he said.
El-Rufai, who served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, described himself as a technocrat rather than a politician.
“I’m a worker. People go and run for office and they have difficult assignments and they get people like me who get it done. Myself, Ngozi, and Obi—we are not people who will stand on a podium and tell people to vote for us. We are not like that. That’s not our training, that’s not our inclination.”
Recounting how he was persuaded to enter the governorship race, he explained that Buhari insisted he contest under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“After we formed the APC and I was in the National Executive Committee, I was Deputy National Secretary, and we were preparing for the 2015 elections, President Buhari called me and said, ‘Go and run for governor.’ I said, ‘No, sir, I don’t have those skill sets. My skill set is technocratic.’ He said, ‘No, go.’ We had three conversations before I accepted.”
Despite his continued involvement in politics, El-Rufai clarified that he has no intention of seeking elective office again.
“I will remain in politics for life, but that does not mean I will be contesting elections or something. I will remain in politics because I believe that I have to influence what happens in our party so that we have better-quality candidates and governors. That’s all. I’m 65; I’m not yet ready to retire from politics. I intend to remain in politics,” he said.
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