The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, Thursday in Abuja has said he is not nursing any ambitions in the 2023 elections.
He also stated that he would support any candidate who emerged from his party’s zoning structure, even if the candidate was from the South.
El-Rufai said this during the weekly ministerial press briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the presidential villa, Abuja.
Fielding questions from State House Correspondents, he said, “I have zero ambitions. I just want to finish this job, get on with my private life, write another book, and make tons of money. The largest amount of money I ever got in my life was from writing Accidental Public Servant.
“I have no ambition; I’ve never had any ambition. And if I die today, I am quite accomplished and happy because I never in my life, based on my humble background, ever thought I would even enter this building ever in my life; how?
“God has been very kind to me. And my outings in public service have all been satisfactory? Why push my luck and go for a job with a 90 per cent chance of failure? So I’m not an ambitious person. I’m just a person that gets things done when given the opportunity. I’ve never desired to run even for this governorship.
“It was President Buhari that literally forced me to run. He insisted that some of us run for governorship just in case he did not get elected again. He felt that you know, we needed some ‘strong governance’. Those were the words he used. So I have no aspirations.”
Asked if he would support a South-West candidate, the former FCT Minister said, “I will support any APC candidate if I’m satisfied he will do the best for Nigeria. It doesn’t matter whether he’s from southwest, southeast or south-south; APC is what matters and the quality of the person.
“The discussion we are having is that the Presidency is zoned to the South. It’s not zoned to any particular place in the South. The South will have the first go at it. But we’re waiting to see who the aspirants are.”
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