By Francesca Hangeior.
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 by PUNCH Online 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.