President Muhammadu Buhari and some of his top aides yesterday met
secretly with Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State to inform him that
Mr. Buhari intends to run again for the Presidency as the candidate of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.
A senior Presidency
source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that the decision
to inform Mr. El-Rufai was taken because the governor was being touted
as Mr. Buhari’s replacement in the event that the president cannot run
for a second term in 2019 due to ill health.
During yesterday's
meeting, President Buhari and his close associates asked Mr. El-Rufai to
take up the role of honorary adviser to the presidential campaign which
they said had already kicked off subtly through a series of propaganda
initiatives since President Buhari returned from a prolonged medical
treatment in London for an undisclosed illness.
President Buhari
and his team also asked Mr. El-Rufai to prepare for a second term as
governor so as to strengthen his credentials to run for the Presidency
in 2023, a projection that is unlikely considering that the Presidency
would likely be zoned to another geographical zone by the party.
APC
sources have stated that President Buhari would be spared any form of
internal party primaries should he seek reelection. They have also
hinged their strategy on avoiding a hectic and bruising presidential
campaign by spotlighting Mr. Buhari’s so-called record for transparency,
integrity, and simplicity.
When Mr. El-Rufai emerged from the
meeting with President Buhari, he took a swipe at the Minister of Women
Affairs, Hajia Jumai AlHassan, who recently openly declared her
intention to back former Vice President Abubakar Atiku for the
Presidency in 2019, even if Mr. Buhari was in the race. Mr. El-Rufai
told reporters that he had warned President Buhari against appointing
Ms. AlHassan as a ministe.
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