Why I won’t waste my time reading Obasanjo’s long statement – El-Rufai

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has stated that he won’t waste his time reading the special statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration because it was too long.

Obasanjo had earlier last week, written a lengthy and strong-worded statement where he advised Buhari not to run in the 2019 election, adding that the President should resign, go home and rest.

Fielding questions from Channel TV on the state of the nation, El-Rufai said he was rather too busy to read the statement but added that Obasanjo was entitled to his opinion.

He said, “I have not. It is too long. I am very busy, but I got the gist of it. President Obasanjo is a Nigerian, he is a patriot, and he is entitled to his opinion just like every other Nigerian.

“The Presidency has issued a response, the party has issued a response, and that closes the matter. We are moving on.

“I believe that President Buhari is the one that will advance the interest of Nigeria and the stability of the country.”

The ex-Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister added that his vociferous support for President Buhari was not because he wants to ride on his coat-tail for his own second term as governor of Kaduna.

He added, “I believe that it is in the overall interest of our party and the stability of Nigeria; It is not because I stand to gain or lose anything. But it is because in everything I’ve done since I got into public service, for me the interest of Nigeria comes first.

“God has given me everything through the instrumentality of this country – I don’t need anything as a person but what I need is to see a country that is making progress, that is stable and leave a legacy for our children to build on it.”