Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has disclosed that he rejected ex-Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, as his successor.
El-Rufai was the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) under the Obasanjo administration.
He then became the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, from 2003 to 2007.
When he left office in 2007, Obasanjo opted to support the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as his successor.
Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the second edition of the annual symposium of the Ajibosin Platform, Obasanjo disclosed that former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, had recommended El-Rufai as his successor.
“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 refering to Chidoka.
Turning to Chidoka, Obasanjo asked, “No be so (Is that not true)?”
Chidoka nodded his head in agreement.
“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,’” Obasanjo added.
