A member of the House of Representatives representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency, Bello El-Rufai, has publicly apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan for his past criticisms of his administration, acknowledging that his previous views were shaped by youthful inexperience.

El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, made the apology during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.

He said he had come to a new understanding of Jonathan’s leadership after observing his father’s recent efforts to consult with the former president.

“And he said he was going to see President Jonathan, and I paused because when I was naive or when I thought ego or gratification mattered, I used to be very active in criticising President Jonathan,” El-Rufai said.

“I even forgot in my naivety, as many young people do, that we had governance then. And I found my father saying that he is going to consult President
Jonathan. I said, ‘please when you see him, tell him I am very sorry, I am wiser now’,” he added.

He praised Jonathan for conceding defeat in the 2015 presidential election, describing it as a rare act of statesmanship in African politics.

“The system is a problem. Now, why did I mention President Jonathan? It takes a lot, particularly in Africa, to lose an election and leave—he did that,” El-Rufai said.

Nasir El-Rufai, a former minister and prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was a key figure in the political coalition that led to the defeat of Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 general elections