“You cannot get Presidency by threatening secession” – Gov. El-Rufai tells Southeast

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has advised the Southeast to actively engage people from other parts of Nigeria if it has a serious desire to produce the next president of the country.

The governor said this when he spoke during a webinar organized by the Africa Leadership Group with the theme ‘Developing a Viable Nation 2’.

According to El-Rufai, the presidency would not come to the Southeast region through threats to pull out of Nigeria or playing the victim card. “I don’t think anyone has stopped the South-East from going for the Presidency. But you see, you cannot get the Presidency of Nigeria by threats or by shouting victim hood. This is a political process and you have to engage other parts of Nigeria to convince them to support you.

“That is what everyone does. That is what Jonathan did in 2011. That is what Buhari did in 2015 and 2019. That is what every President does. You don’t stay in your corner, abuse everyone in Nigeria and say give me Presidency. It is not going to happen. Presidency is not by allocation; it is the result of a political process. You join a political party, your party negotiates with other parts of the country and it happens.

“That is how it is done. And you cannot get it by sitting down or threatening secession. It won’t work. I think the South-East is going about it the wrong way, because if you look at the APC for instance, we do not have many footprints in the South-East.” he said