The member of the House of Representatives representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency, Bello El-Rufai, has said that he was not involved in the award of contracts during the tenure of his father, Nasir El-Rufai, as the governor of Kaduna State.
Bello stated this in an interview hosted by Yaya Abba,
titled, ‘With Shuraim.’
The video of the interview was sighted on
Tuesday.
The former governor served as the Minister of the Federal
Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007 under the administration of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Afterwards, he served as a two-term governor of Kaduna State
from 2016 to 2023.
He was recently accused of leaving a huge debt for his
successor, Uba Sani, to the tune of $587 million, N85 billion, and N115 billion
in contract liabilities.
Sani noted that the state is now left with few amounts not
enough to pay salary.
However, Bello said, “I think he (Nasir) is an exceptional
mind and the sort of leader that Nigeria really needs; there are many like him.
“When he became
governor, we campaigned for him seriously. We knew the wave was coming, we knew
there was a merger. We knew Buhari could win this time especially the alliance
that happened with the Southwest.”
Bello, the Chairman House Committee on Banking Regulations,
noted that at the time, “some of us were just learning the process. But
immediately he became governor, he sent me, as I say, on exile. Unlike the
children of the governors back then, I didn’t really stay in Kaduna doing
contracts. ”
While stating that he now understands the reason behind his
father’s decision to send him away from the political scene, Bello noted, “What
happens to the man in power is that if they can’t get to him, they’ll get to
the wives or children,” adding that it was “natural for contractors in Kaduna
to think if they come through you, they’ll gain favour.
“He (the father) just took me out of that equation and it
really helped.”
The lawmaker said that during the first four years of his
father’s administration in Kaduna, he worked in the Enterprise Business Unit of
the technology firm, Huawei, adding that his work experience in the firm made
him understand organisational structure.
This isn’t the first time Bello will speak of his father’s
administrative and leadership prowess.
In early March 2024, Bello said the nation had lost an
effective administrator in his father after the Senate rejected his nomination
as minister.
Bello said it took his pleas and those of other family
members for his father to accept the ministerial nomination from President Bola
Tinubu.
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