The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu has appealed to Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai not to leave Nigeria after the 2023 elections.
The former Lagos state governor said that El Rufai’s “vision, creativity and resiliency in turning a rotten situation to a bad one (sic) is necessary at this critical time.”
Tinubu made the appeal on Saturday in Kaduna while addressing attendees at the seventh edition of KadInvest, an annual event organised by the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency.
Tinubu advised El-Rufai, a former FCT minister, not to “run away,” but to stay back and help to fix the country.
He said, “Nigeria needs thinkers and doer. I’m openly begging Nasir El-Rufai not to run away for (an) additional degree.
“He’s going to Cairo (for) Ph.D…and everything. There are (a) lot of educated drelics (sic). We are not going to let you run away.
“Your vision, creativity and resiliency in turning a rotten situation to a bad one (sic) is necessary at this critical time.
“That is why we are here today,” the APC co-founder said in his speech.
Video: Tinubu says El Rufai's “vision, creativity and resiliency in turning a rotten situation to a bad one is necessary at this critical time." pic.twitter.com/Jz3RPagCRp
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In attendance at the event were El-Rufai, his Jigawa and Kebbi counterparts, Muhammad Abubakar and Atiku Bagudu, ex-Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Lamido Sanusi, among others.
Sanusi, a former Kano Emir, was also at the event. He delivered the keynote titled ‘Improving subnational resilience against global economic shocks.’
President Muhammadu Buhari was represented by the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Maryam Katagum.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.