Obasanjo Blasts El-Rufai And Other APC Governors Who Endorsed Buhari For A Second Term

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Seven Governors from the All Progressives Congress who some days ago publicly endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari to seek re-election in 2019 have been blasted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

 

The Governors led by Kaduna state Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai were at the villa at a time about 73 persons were brutally murdered by Fulani herdsmen in Benue state.

 

The governors of Niger State, Abubakar Bello; Yobe, Ibrahim Gaidam; Kogi, Yahaya Bello; Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje; Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai; Adamawa, Jibrilla Bindow, and Plateau, Simon Lalong, on January 12, 2017 after a meeting with Mr Buhari announced that they had endorsed him to run for re-election.

 

Obasanjo termed the act as 'callous, insensitive and unfortunate.'

 

In his scathing letter on Tuesday Obasanjo lambasted the Governors for not empathizing with the grieving people of Benue state.

 

Obasanjo said the decision by the governors to endorse Mr Buhari barely a day after those killed in the attack were given mass burial was insensitive and callous.

 

“It is a sad symptom of insensitivity and callousness that some governors, a day after 73 victims were being buried in a mass grave in Benue State without condolence, were jubilantly endorsing President Buhari for a second term!  The timing was most unfortunate,” he said.

 

El-Rufai while endorsing Buhari for a second term after Friday prayers with the president at the State House Mosque, said they owed no one apology for the endorsement.

 

“We are politicians and those of us you see here want the President to contest the 2019 election. We have no apologies for that.

 

“We believe in Mr. President, we want him to continue running the country in the right direction. People can speculate about 2019, we have no apologies. Whether they are right or wrong is beside the point.

 

“Everybody is entitled to his own opinion, but as governors, and most of us here with the exception of Yobe Governor, are first time governors. We are interested in continuity and stability and we want the President to continue with that,” Mr El-Rufai who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said.