Ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has said that the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, can never be Jonathan’s running mate in the 2023 presidential elections.
Omokri added that his former boss has no intention of running for president in 2023. He added that the former boss has no intention of dumping the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Omokri spoke on Wednesday in a Punch Online’ The Roundtable, an online interview programme.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, there have been political permutation and re-alignments among members of the PDP and the APC. Also, there were reports that El-Rufai, who would end his second term as Kaduna State governor in 2023, would be Jonathan’s running mate but the reports were dismissed by Omokri.
Jonathan of the PDP was the president of Nigeria between 2010 and 2015 when he lost his re-election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. Buhari won his second term in 2019 and he is expected to leave Aso Rock by 2023.
But in recent time, many APC stalwarts have been seen visiting the Abuja residence of Jonathan. He is constitutionally entitled to run for another term to complete his legally possible two terms of eight years.
Speaking on the reports of El-Rufai and Jonathan pair in the next election, Omokri said, “They are trying to put that story out there to put pressure as to promote Nasir El-Rufai as a presidential candidate.
“I spoke to former President Jonathan just before this interview. That story is a lie, quote me. Nasir El-Rufai will be the last person if former President Jonathan is thinking of running, of which he is not even thinking of running.”
Omokri also spoke on the rumor of defection, adding that Jonathan has always been a member of a political party all his life.
“The best judge of future behaviour is past behaviours. Former President Jonathan has been in one party all through his life. He is 63 years old and he doesn’t have that kind of history. He doesn’t have that kind of reputation. To the best of my knowledge, former President Jonathan is not leaving the People Democratic Party, He is a very loyal man just like me,” he said.
