El-Rufai insists Buhari is unelectable

By Segun Balogun

Mohammadu Buhari’s record as a military head of state will perpetually render him unelectable because Nigerians will never desire a repeat of such administration, said Nasir El-Rufai, former FCT Minister. Reacting to statements made by the Mohammadu Buhari’s party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), regarding the advice he gave the retired army general to retire from politics, Mr. El-Rufai, in a statement on Monday, said age is certainly a factor in the coming presidential election since Ibrahim Babangida has already defamed young Nigerians as unfit for national leadership.

“While it is true that neither youth nor age supplies wisdom on their own, it makes sense to ask those who have been recurring decimals in our country’s sorry history to leave the stage. I’m amazed that General Buhari cannot debate this matter without scurrying to the gutter, making claims that are baseless and unsupported by any facts,” said Mr. El-Rufai, describing Mr. Buhari’s leadership style as parochial and insensitive to Nigeria’s diverse background.

He asked whether “the failure [of Mr. Buhari and Mr. Babangida] to do their best for Nigeria when they had the chance qualifies them for a return to office. Our people surely deserve better.”

He was obviously irked by the claims made by CPC regarding his administration as a federal minister, describing them as fictitious and prejudicial.

“Despite the difficult decisions that had to be taken to restore Abuja, Mallam El-Rufai continues to receive deserved praise and recognition for his achievements in restoring the Abuja master plan, introducing Nigeria’s first computerised land registry, and helping thousands of Nigerians achieve their dreams of home ownership in the federal capital,” the statement said.