Former FCT Minister Nasiru El-Rufai has declared his intention to run for the Kaduna State governorship under the aegis of of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He made this known in Kaduna when he visited the party’s office recently.
He said, “I came along with my colleagues to formally inform the state branch of the APC of my intension to contest for the governorship of Kaduna State.
“We think that it is a necessary first step to inform the party officially that this is our intention before making any formal declaration.”
He also gave thumbs up to the party leadership for its efforts in unifying the various factions and groups that constituted the APC.
He applauded the chairman of the party and his team for doing a great job in bringing back together all the warring factions. He added, “we think it is important to encourage and ask them to do more”.
He continued, “As part of the reconciliation process, I have also offered to, if I am needed, help and forge reconciliation and unite the party. I will be happy to be part of any such initiative.
“We came to present the party with some vehicles because the party has nothing or little in terms of operational materials.
“As you can see, the party office is not yet furnished; we are going to work with other stakeholders to make sure that the party office is furnished”.
The former minister said it was necessary for its leadership to move round the state, campaign and enlighten the electorate to collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards’ and participate in the Continuous Voter Registration. He urged everyone to join hands together to make Kaduna a great state once again.
“We thought that the party needed vehicles because since their (party leadership) elections, they have been using their personal vehicles. That is why we gave them some vehicles as a first step and we hope to do more,” he said.
Speaking on his decision to run for the office, El Rufai stated that he made up his mind to run after a long period of consultation and reflection because I was really angry at the state of things in Kaduna State.
“I think that my state has gone backward compared to our neighbouring states.
“It is impunity of the highest order and it has made me very angry and many others and that is why we came together and try to run for this office,” he said.