Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he was advised to anoint Nasir El-Rufai as his successor but declined based on alleged immaturity on the part of the ex-governor.
El-Rufai at various periods was the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in the time of Obasanjo as president.
Speaking on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the second edition of the annual symposium of the Ajibosin Platform themed “Importance of Leadership in Governance,” the ex-president revealed that former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, had recommended El-Rufai to be his successor, but he refused.
The disclosure followed a part in Chidoka’s keynote address at the event, in which he recalled how El-Rufai recommended him to Obasanjo at the age of 34, which led to his appointment as the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
In turn, Obasanjo playfully taunted Chidoka for omitting the El-Rufai story, saying, “Let him tell you. He didn’t mention that. He was pushing when I was leaving government that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor.
“No be so? Meaning is that not true?”
Responding, Chidoka nodded in agreement.
Before Obasanjo added, “I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he said, ‘I suggested this person, why didn’t you agree?’ I said El-Rufai needed to mature. You remember? When I left the government and, many years later, he saw the performances of El-Rufai, he came back to me and said, ‘You’re absolutely correct. El-Rufai needed to mature.’”
