Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, has asked the state pastors to consider his records in governance rather than focus on what people might have said of him, especially the negative comments.
Governor El-Rufai, a Muslim, said this while meeting some pastors under the aegis of Pastors United For Change Association (PUCA) in Kaduna on Saturday.
Speaking against the backdrop of the selection of Hadiza Balarabe, a Muslim, as his running mate for the 2019 governorship election in the state, the governor, who is seeking to get a second term under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said he has never carried out his professional or public duties with either ethnic or religious consideration.
He explained that his choice of Balarabe was strictly on the basis of competence, explaining that the deputy governorship candidate performed excellently when she served as the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
He also said her choice was proof that the state encouraged women participation in politics.
Governor El-Rufai said: “In my life I have never worked with people based on religious and ethnic consideration. Don’t look at what people said but what I have done in the past.
“Go through my records and see what I have done. On the issue of my running mate, we are encouraging women participation in politics, she is a competent woman.
“Only Kaduna state has male/female governorship ticket in northern Nigeria. Prof.Andrew Nok, our late commissioner for education, brought Dr.Hadiza Balarabe when we were looking for someone that can revive our primary health in the state and she performed excellently well.
“I don’t know her before. Her choice as running mate has nothing to do with religion… I am confident that, my running mate will run the state effectively and will be fair to all in the state even if I am not around.”
The governor noted that he is not one of the individuals who mix politics with governance, adding that he has performed creditably well in all major areas in the state.
He, however, admitted to the pastors that he has made mistakes, noting that he was not immune from them because he is a human being like everyone else.
He asked for the support of the pastors in order to enhance the development of the state.
“When you get into office politics stop. You must be fair to all. Check our records in the last three years and six months, we have worked.
“We built, repaired primary, secondary schools. We fixed our primary health centres… I’m human and I can make mistakes like any other person. I will be fair to everybody.
“We must unite our people for progress. I want Kaduna state to interact on the basis of humanity not religion and ethnicity,” Governor El-Rufai said.
Discussion about this post