Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said the Buharist Group which he belongs will pressure President Muhammadu Buhari to run for second term in 2019.
He told State House correspondents on Friday that right now, all members of the group – Governors, Ministers and others are praying fervently to God to grant him good health.
The Governor said he doesn’t nurse presidential ambition but hastened to add that he would do whatever the President ask him to do, recalling how he asked him to run for Kaduna governorship in 2015, which he won.
His words, “Look, my name has continuously been mentioned as a Presidential aspirant since 2007 after my years in the FCT, there is nothing new about that.
“What I want to say here very, very clearly is that I have never been a Presidential aspirant, I have never even been a governatorial aspirant. I am governor today by the grace of God because President Buhari called me and said go and run for Governor of Kaduna state.
“As far as 2019 is concerned, my position is the President is looking very well, he is recuperating very fast. My hope and prayer is he will contest in 2019.
“Everything that our group is doing, and we have a group. We have a Buharist amongst governors, ministers. Our group wants to ensure that President Buhari runs in 2019.
” If he chooses not to run he will tell us which direction to go. We are Buharist, we don’t have any personal ambition, we don’t have any personal aspiration and we are waiting for him to decide. And every political effort we are making, every structure we are creating.
“Our political ideology is to support whatever President Buhari wants to support, that has not changed. And I want to assure you whatever names you hear, Nasir El-Rufai is not an aspirant for the presidency neither any of the governors that are known to be Buharists as well as some of the ministers that are known for from time.”
