He said, “This country is facing an existential crisis. We may not have a country for you to contest for president, if we continue the way we’re going, or if things get worse. So for me, I do not care where the person comes from. But I want a candidate, and a ticket that will do two things: that will offer solutions to Nigeria’s problems. Number two, who will excite Nigerians enough to come out, and vote, and defeat the All Progressives Congress’ government that’s taking Nigeria backwards.”
Continuing his remarks, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai stated that he no longer subscribed to the notion that the presidency must originate from a specific region. He explained that he would support any competent and visionary candidate, regardless of their origin, so long as they were capable of addressing the country’s most pressing issues.
He noted that while he had previously advocated for power shift, the results had not yielded the expected progress. According to him, the country had continued to deteriorate, with the government failing to respond effectively to the struggles faced by ordinary Nigerians, except for those in power. El-Rufai stressed that his focus moving forward was on leadership that could confront and resolve Nigeria’s fundamental challenges, not on regional sentiments.
