El-Rufai: I’ll only visit Kaduna if it becomes necessary after leaving office

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says after he leaves office, he’ll only visit the state if it becomes necessary.

Speaking at a policy conversation and book launch in Abuja on Tuesday, el-Rufai said he would not return as the minister of the federal capital territory even if offered.

The event, with the theme “How Nigeria can build a post-oil economic future”,  was organised by the Carnegie Africa Program in partnership with Agora Policy.

But the governor did not say if he would be part of the new government or retire into a private life, though he said he would not accept the job the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

El-Rufai was the FCT minister under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, during which he undertook radical policies including demolition of illegal structures in Abuja.

“I have done my job, I’m done, I don’t look back. In fact when I left FCT, the only time I visited FCT was in 2016 when my secondary school classmate was appointed the minister and he said he wanted to see me, so I went there,” el-Rufai said.

“Once I leave a job, I don’t look back. If I leave Kaduna in 19 days, I will only visit if it becomes necessary.

“So, I don’t think about the FCT. I’ve done my bit. I don’t comment on the performance of those that came after me.

“Even if offered, I’m not coming to Abuja. As I say, I never repeat class and there are many young people I know that I can recommend that would do even better job than I did as minister of FCT.

“I’m too old for this. I’m too old for demolition, get a young man with blood in his veins or a young woman.”

The Kaduna governor called on workers in the private sector to pass through the public sector to contribute in turning the country around.

“If you are in the private sector and you have met your basic financial needs, you have your own house, come through the public service and contribute so that you turn around the country, otherwise whatever you have in the private sector can be destroyed by a consistently bad government. It is only a matter of time,” he said.

“If good people that have an independent mind and a voice can stand up and say we must do the right thing and nobody can intimidate him are not in government, please don’t complain that things are not working well.

“And do not complain when you wake up one morning, all your money has been wiped out or a government says take your money to the bank, we are doing currency redesign and they keep it and say we are not giving you, don’t complain because that is what you get when you allow scumbags to be in government.”