Jonathan tried to imprison me, ignored our friendship - El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said former President Goodluck Jonathan nearly put him in prison because he thought he was a threat to his second-term ambition.

El-Rufai, in an interview published in The Point, said that while Jonathan was his very close friend to him since he was Lieutenant Governor of Bayelsa State, he persecuted him because he believed those who told him he was a threat.

The governor said his persecution began in 2006 when he was in charge in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

He said: “Jonathan was also convinced by his own circle that I was a threat and that if I was going to a second term, he had to take me out of the race. And so Jonathan continued the persecution that Yar’adua started.

“I have been associated with running for President, as I said, since 2005, 2006, about 15 years. I’ve suffered for this, I’ve even been exiled for it and Jonathan tried to put me in prison for it.  “My name being mentioned with regard to presidential aspiration has been on since 2006, since I was running the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. People were speculating that the then President Olusegun Obasanjo was preparing to hand over to me. It was part of the reasons I was exiled. Late President Yar’adua was told, according to those around him, that Obasanjo shortlisted two names to succeed him – Yar’Adua’s name and mine. It was totally false.

On the insecurity in Kaduna State, he said the government was working hard, and using the carrot and stick approach to gradually solve the problem.

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