Why El-Rufai, others working for Buhari’s second term
Credible sources told Daily Trust last night that Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and some of his colleagues from the six-geo political zones of the country are truely urging President Buhari to go for second term not for their selfish gains but for the stability of the country.
Sources within the APC circle in Kaduna said it was true El-Rufai and some APC governors had seen Buhari on the matter, but this claim could not be authenticated last night because the Kaduna governor’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, could not be reached through calls and text messages.
But one of the sources at the presidency, who spoke in confidence, said, “Yes, it is not even a hidden issue that El-Rufai and co want Buhari again.
“This is necessary because they believe that by the time he completed his second term in 2023, there would be smooth transition of power from the North to the South in line with the rotation policy.
“There would be no acrimony and nobody from the North would even make an attempt for the presidency.
“If you accused El-Rufai or any of the governors of working for themselves, wisdom demands that you ask yourself what they stand to gain if Buhari gets a second term. It is strictly an altruistic endeavour by the governors because they don’t want a repeat of what happened during the time of late President Umaru Yar’adua.”
Another presidency source said: “Some of the patriotic APC governors are now the true political advisers of Buhari. We all know that the president does not have a political adviser at the moment and therefore the governors fill that vacuum.
“And whether we like it or not, the South in general would hardly support any northerner apart from Buhari, who would at most spend just additional four years when he is re-elected.
“The calculation would be different if another person from the North wins, whether under APC, PDP or any other political party because that would mean the South must have to wait for another eight years to start thinking of getting the presidency. This is the simple logic behind their endeavour,” he added.