"Mr President, Kaduna delegates are your delegates," El-Rufai explains how he had asked president Buhari to nominate a candidate before the APC primary election

 Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has revealed how his call for President Muhammadu Buhari to anoint a candidate ahead of the All Progressives Congress, APC's presidential primary, was denied.

Days before the primary, the president had asked the progressive governors to allow him to choose his successor. This provided the indication that the President had someone in mind to take over at the end of his term. Although, it seemed as if Buhari had changed his mind and decided to let the aspirants fight it out among themselves. And El-Rufai, speaking on Channels Television on Friday night, two days after the Abuja primaries, said the president had overcome pressure to decide who the Kaduna delegates would vote for among the five southern candidates, that were presented to him. "I went to Mr. President [Muhammadu Buhari] and asked him, 'Have you decided who we should vote for?' And he said, 'I told you, go and vote for one of the five,'" said El- Rufai. "And I said, 'Mr. President, Kaduna delegates are your delegates, you will retire and live in Kaduna. So you can tell me which of the five you want?” "And Mr. President said, 'I want all five, let the delegates choose. Tell them to choose their conscience. They represent 10 million people in Kaduna State. It is your responsibility. So let them offload and choose the right candidate.” Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos and national leader of the ruling party, won the primary. He won the presidential primary after scoring 1,271 points to defeat his closest challenger, former Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi, who scored 316 points.

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