Bello El-Rufai, a member of the House of Representative and son of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has admitted that he was naive in his criticism of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency said that his naivety prevented him from realising that there was governance in the country during Jonathan’s administration.
According to him, he came to the realisation of his naivety in criticising Jonathan after he saw his father going to visit the former president for political talks.
“I visited my father after I became a member and I saw him wearing a polo shirt and I said ‘where are you going?’ And he said he was going to see President Jonathan, and I paused because when I was naive or when I thought ego or gratification mattered, I used to be very active in criticising President Jonathan.
“I even forgot in my naivety as many young people do, that we had governance then and I found my father saying that he is going to consult President Jonathan. I said, ‘please when you see him, tell him I am very sorry, I am wiser now’.
“The system is a problem. Now, why did I mention President Jonathan? It takes a lot particularly in Africa to lose an election and leave, he did that,” Bello El-Rufai said.
Noting that there has been improvement in electoral reforms, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker stated that if there is any truth to the rumour of an electoral amendment that would allow people to vote without a voter’s card, he would vote against such a proposal.
He expressed his support for the elevation of electoral reforms, including electronic transmission of election results.
