Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State publicly announced that he will not serve as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the upcoming administration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
El-Rufai played a crucial role in the power shift from north to south, which assisted Tinubu in winning the presidential elections.
Although there were speculations that the outgoing governor would serve as Chief of Staff or FCT Minister in the next government, he distanced himself from these reports earlier.
During a policy conversation and book launch in Abuja, El-Rufai reiterated this position saying, “I don’t look back once I leave a job…If I leave Kaduna in 19 days, I will only visit if necessary. So, I don’t think about the FCT.”
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed El-Rufai as FCT minister. The latter added that, “I’m not coming to Abuja, even if offered…get a young man with blood in his veins or a young woman. I’m too old for demolition.”
He suggested that there are many young people capable of performing better than him as minister of FCT.
He made the announcement at a policy conversation and book launch event organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Agora Policy, in Abuja.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is one of the oldest and most respected think tanks in the world, established in 1910, and it was ranked number one on the 2020 Global Go-To Think Tank Index published by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme of the University of Pennsylvania, US.
Whereas, the Agora Policy is a nascent Nigerian think tank committed to generating evidence-based and practical solutions to Nigeria’s urgent challenges.
Waziri Adio founded it, immediate past Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and a leading Nigerian columnist.
The aimes of the event were to discuss Nigeria’s challenges, including energy, economic diversification, and security, and finding solutions to these issues.
The participants included top policymakers, business leaders, academics, and representatives of civil society organizations and international organizations.
The conversation also explored how Nigeria can leverage its potential and overcome the challenges to become a prosperous and secure nation.
It provided stakeholders in Nigeria with a platform to engage in constructive dialogue and promote evidence-based policies for the betterment of the country.
