Why Buhari must run for second term – El-Rufai
Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari must stand for re-election in 2019 in the best interest of the country, one of his allies and governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has said.
Sworn in as the country’s leader less than two years ago after ousting the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan at the polls, Buhari was heralded into the office like a messiah of a sort. His campaign promises included stamping out corruption through and ushering in a new democratic era free from bitter partisanship.
A biting economic recession accompanied by rising cost of living and a not-so-successful war on graft have, however, watered down his popularity among the people who now see his change agenda as only a tired campaign slogan.
Those problems and his ill-health notwithstanding, El-Rufai said Buhari has done well enough to be given a second term.
“My prayer is that the president gets well…gets back to full health and run again because I still believe his being president…the stability that he brings to the office is in the best interest of Nigeria,” El-Rufai said on Friday.
Should Buhari chooses not to stand for re-election, the Kaduna state governor said he would expect him to have a say in who the ruling All Progressives Congress nominates as its candidate.
El-Rufai spoke against the backdrop of controversies generated after his 30-page memo to Buhari was leaked to the media. And the governor, who claimed he was not aware Buhari was sick when he authored the report, has firmly blamed unnamed presidential aide as the persons behind the leak.
“I know who leaked the memo,” he said refraining from mentioning the aide’s name.
On Friday, he was at the Presidential Villa to observe Juma’at Prayer with Buhari. He declared that though he was aware that some aides on Buhari’s team disliked him, that would never prevent him from visiting the president.
“Within the Villa, there are people that like me and there are those who don’t and it is normal. My relationship with the President has never been strained in any way,” he explained.
The governor insisted there was no sinister intention behind his authoring the memo, noting that the now famous memo was, in fact, in a “series of memos” he had sent to the president.
“It is not the fist, it is not the tenth. It is probably close to the twentieth memo I have written,” he said.
“I have been working closely with Mr President for about seven years, from the time we were in the opposition in the CPC, through the merger into the APC.
“Anytime I see fundamental issues that require to be addressed by him, I discuss with him. When discuss…debate, and I get his thoughts, I would always tell, ‘I will go back and articulate a memo and action plan for you.'”
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9 Comments
A good leader will do well to disregard the noise of sycophants around him. Precisely, sycophants like El-rufai should be disregarded. If Buhari loves this country as he claims, he will do well to bow out and leave the stage for a younger candidate come 2019. He himself admitted this much when he said”he wished he had become president when he was much younger”
So please Mr. President, it is better to bow out when the ovation is loudest!
Younger leaders in the mound of GEJ that will stole us back to Stone Age ? PMB 23
What would you do with a senile old man that has past his prime compared to younger leaders like El-rufai, Shetima etc? There are younger and better leaders than PMB. Pls stop this PMB worship!
PMB for second term.Only criminals that belief in Cho and cho.Corrupt attitudes will say evil of PMB second term.Saraki , Dogara are part of younger generation, every sincere person should evaluate the two guys.No vacancy in Asoro Rock till 2023.
By the time Buhari concludes his 2nd term in 2023, [if he does] there will be much fewer people answering Nigerians.
Yeah, the game being played by Nasir and Baba is clearly understood already, but 2019 would be by merit and not wishes at all, so work for it and never assume.
Politicians are Nigeria’s greatest enemies. The president has not completed two years of four years tenure – and they’re already talking of a second tenure. Instead of working to solve the country’s problems for which they were elected, they’re more concerned about how to enrich themselves. Nemesis with catch up with them someday.
Of course the Mullah will run again and will receive 3 million flawless votes from the almajiris of Kano state alone. Shame of a nation!
lol…. some of these answers need to be on this site below.
https://www.blexxa.com/question/what-will-happen-if-buhari-contests-and-win-the-2019-presidential-election-in-nigeria/
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