Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, says he has no regrets from his time in public office and intends to publish a second memoir detailing his experience in governance.
El-Rufai spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigerian Oil Block, a memoir authored by Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice.
The former governor, who served as minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) under Olusegun Obasanjo, said he remains proud of his public service record and unbothered by criticism because he “did nothing wrong”.
“About 12 years ago, I presented The Accidental Public Servant, which was a record of my experience in public service at the time,” he said.
“It showed how friends abandon you, betray you, how those that you’ve been good to turn around against you. And everyone told me I made a mistake; that I will never go near public service again because in Nigeria when you are in government, you eat, you keep quiet, and you come and you remain silent.”
El-Rufai said he had chosen a different path, one of transparency and documentation, insisting that he has nothing to fear or hide about the decisions he made in office.
“I don’t think I had anything to hide in my public service years. I still don’t. And I know Bello Adoke has nothing to hide,” he added.
“So you can write a book like that and hold your head (high) because you know you did nothing wrong while holding public office. I appeal to those in power today to remember that their turn will come.”
His remarks came as a strong defence of Adoke, who had faced multiple legal battles over the controversial OPL 245 oil block deal. Adoke was ultimately acquitted of wrongdoing by courts in Nigeria, Italy, and the UK.
El-Rufai commended the former AGF for setting the record straight through his book.
