In a 29-page memo dated September 22, 2016, Governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai told Buhari that his administration had not only failed in meeting the expectations of Nigerians but equally fell short of delivering on mundane issues of governance
The Kaduna State Governor on Friday said that he had no apology for writing a memo believed to be critical of the present administration to President Muhammadu Buhari.
El-Rufai said this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after he joined Buhari for the Juma’at prayer at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In the memo titled, “Immediate and medium-term imperatives for President Muhammadu Buhari,” he also claimed that the President is surrounded by inexperienced and clueless officials, who don’t share in the vision of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
El-Rufai also noted that he was conscious of the fact that his memo might be misunderstood but willing to accept the consequences
In the interview with State House correspondents, the governor said his memo to the President was not ill-motivated.
While saying he had no regret for writing the document, the governor said he would not hesitate to write another memo to the President if the need arose.
The Kaduna State governor also said he was disappointed that a private memo he sent to Buhari on the state of the nation could be leaked to the public.
He said those who published the document revealed the identities of those who leaked it to them.
He said, “I am disappointed that a private communication to the highest office in the land can be leaked and it was leaked from the villa. I am told by those that published it, but this is a fact of life.
“We live in an age where anything you write or say can be leaked. It is ok, my intentions are clear, I have no ill motive but I wanted to communicate with the President what many Nigerians are talking about and what steps can be taken to improve governance of the country and move the country forward.
“That was my motive and if tomorrow, like I said, I see anything that the President needs to know, I will discuss with him and I will articulate and put it into writing and on the record for him to have a reminder document to work on.
“I have no regrets and I have no apologies.”
The governor said the publication of the memo had not caused any strain in his relationship with the President, saying their relationship is like that of a father and son.
He said he had earlier met with Buhari on Thursday night and he was received with warmth.
He said it was normal that in a big place like the Presidential Villa, there would be those who like him and those who do not like him.
El-Rufai explained that he had written similar memos to the President in the past and none of them got leaked.
He said the content had nothing to do other than the success of the President and the nation’s progress.
He said Buhari knew he could count on him to give him his views and sound advice on issues, adding that he would stand behind the President to the end.
When asked if his memo had changed anything in the polity, el-Rufai said a lot of improvements had been recorded between the time he wrote the memo in 2016 and now.
The governor said, “Yes, I believe that since September last year when I wrote the letter, there has been significant improvement in the delivery of services at the federal level. As I said, some of our federal programmes have started in earnest.
“Social protection for instance, the N-Power, budget releases have been accelerated. This is an unprecedented move. The Minister of Finance has released up to about a trillion naira of capital budget.
“In September last year, little or nothing had been released and that was part of my concern. Since then, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan has been done and published. At the time I wrote the memo, there was no five-year plan for the country.
“Since then, the government has moved ahead to change some of the appointees of President Jonathan in parastatals. This is something that we were worried about. Many of us in APC felt that we were in office but not in power because the people that Jonathan appointed were still running most of our key agencies.
“From September till date, even up until yesterday (Thursday), there have been significant improvements. So there is improvement and I believe that part of what I recommended to the President is being implemented, whether because of my memo or not, it is being implemented, the country is moving forward and I am grateful to God for it.”
El-Rufai said there was no truth in the claim that some people stopped him from visiting the Presidential Villa after the letter was made public.
He said he opted to allow Buhari rest and recover fully because he knew that too many visitors put stress on leaders.
“No one ever stopped me from coming to the villa and no one can stop me from coming to the villa. As a governor, I come here, I have blank cheques, no one checks me at the gate but I believe what the President needs is for those that love him to keep away from him and allow him to rest.
“The President needs quality time to rest because it is meeting too many people that strains leadership. I am a governor and I know that when I meet 10 people in a day, I get really tired, it is not the paperwork, it is not really the memos approving them or asking questions that strain a leader, it is the stream of visitors.
“I do not want to contribute to the President’s problem by coming here every day. I am in touch with him, I know everything going on and I do not think I should add to his burden. Most of the time I come to visit the President I do not come to the office, I go to see him at home.
“I think and I appeal to all of us that love the President to please allow him some space so that he will recover. We need him and the country needs him, it is in our interest for the stability of the country, we should just let him be.
“It is absolutely necessary. Let’s leave him to do his work in the privacy of his room or his office without strings of visitors. Visitors stress leaders.”
El-Rufai said there was nothing unusual between him and the National Assembly despite his recent exchange of words with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who he described as his kid brother.
He said the only thing he did was ask the leadership of the National Assembly to fulfil the promise that they made themselves to publish the details of their budget.
He said he made the demand as a citizen and that all Nigerians are entitled to make the same demand. The governor added that it is in the National Assembly’s interest to publish it because there are rumours of bogus amounts of money that they are getting which he suspects is not true.
“I think that the best way to kill that rumour is to publish the details of their budget but some people took exception to that call for transparency and I have no apologies because as citizens, we have the right to demand for transparency on how resources are being spent.
“This one hundred billion or so budget of the National Assembly is money belonging to the people of Nigeria and every Nigerian has the right to ask and I am exercising that right as a citizen not even as a governor.
“I have no problem with the Speaker, he is my kid brother, he respects me and I respect him. I have no problem with the Senate President, we worked together in the past and I am confident that we will work together in the future in the interest of Nigeria.
“Demand for accountability is not a problem and should not be construed to be undermining or any such thing. It is only someone who has something to hide that will do things like that and I don’t believe that the National Assembly has things to hide,” he said.
PUNCH.
