Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, on Monday, October 17, 2022, spoke on why the North would support All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
He said APC leaders in the North rooted for zoning in the spirit of equity and justice.
El-Rufai said the decision on power shift to South was premised on the belief that both Sir Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa would have done the same, if they were to be alive.
He said Northern governors are the inheritors of Bello’s and Balewa’s legacy, adding that no other northerner is expected to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari after his tenure.
He assured Tinubu of the North’s support, saying that the bloc region is confident that he can deliver on his promises. El-Rufai added: “When the Northern APC Governors met one Saturday to insist that power must go to the south, we did so out of the understanding of our sense if history.
“We specifically asked ourselves as Northern Governors what will Sir Ahamdi Bello and Tafawa Balewa do in this kind of situation? What will Aminu Kano do in this kind of occasion? Because we are the inheritors of their legacy.
“The 19 Northern governors and ministers are direct descendants of Sir Ahmadu Bello. We are conscious to take that responsibility and that is we take that position.
“We took that position without regard to the interest of some people who insisted that after the eight years of President Buhari’s tenure, he will be succeeded by another president from the North.”
He added: “We felt as Northern governors that this is not in our character and we are not like this. We are people of honor and justice. This is what our grandfather did and this is what some of our parents sitting here did. And it is our duty to protect the sacred word of any northern politician. When we say something, we do it and deliver on it and that is how we started the process of delivering Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We are confident that with the collective effort of all of us. With the support of our elders and passing of our youths and women in the North, we will make Nigeria great again
“So, Asiwaju, whatever you see here is real, we do not pretent, we have recieved you because we believe in you. And we will continue to do so till the very end till you become president by the Grace of God.”
