El-Rufai to Obi, Amaechi: Nobody believes your ‘one term’ promises

By Ayo Oluokun/Abuja

Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has advised the 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi and former Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to stop making promises that they will only spend one term out of constitutionally allowed two terms in office if they are elected as president in 2027.

El-Rufai, Obi and Amaechi are part of the African Democratic Congress, ADC opposition coalition working to stop the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027. Amaechi and Obi, who is also a former governor of Anambra State have declared their intention to contest for the 2027 presidential ticket of ADC.

However, both men have also promised that if they are elected in 2027, they will do only one term in office to allow the emergence of a Northerner as Nigeria’s president in 2031.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a northerner from Adamawa State has also announced plan to contest for the ADC presidential ticket.

El-Rufai, who said he has no any political ambition, however, dismissed the promises of Amaechi and Peter Obi while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme on Sunday.

He also said as a former governor , both men knew that it is impossible to make any meaningful change in four years.

“They should stop making those promises because nobody believes them.

“Amaechi and Peter Obi are former governors and they know that at least you need eight years to make meaningful changes,” the former Kaduna State Governor said during the interview.

He also asked members of ADC to put their their presidential and other ambitions aside for now so that the structure of the party can be strengthened.

El-Rufai also defended his backing of Muslim/muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election, describing it as a political strategy to secure victory for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

“It was a political strategy; it was a strategy to win the election; it was not a religious strategy. When you are contesting an election, you look at every variable, every index, every criterion that will help you win. It has nothing to do with religion,” he said on Sunday.

He added that the fears of those opposed to the Muslim-Muslim ticket then have not come to pass

“We have done a Muslim-Muslim ticket now. Tell me in what way Christians are now short-changed; nothing. No leader that wants to succeed will limit his choice of appointees to a particular religion or ethnicity.

“If you want to succeed, you have to diversify. Now we have cured the fear and the love for the Muslim-Muslim ticket. It has been done, buried, and gone. I did a Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna; I want to know which Christian in Kaduna was short-changed because of it,” he added.