The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai . Photo: NEXT

Former Minister, El-Rufai, denies exile plan

By Nicholas Ibekwe

April 18, 2009 06:48AM

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai, says statements credited to the federal government that processes have been initiated to extradite him to face charges of corruption and abuse of office are laughable.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, said in Abuja Wednesday that Mr. El-Rufia was courting asylum status by pumping up the volume on the corruption tolerance of the current administration, but Mr. El-Rufia,in a statement signed by his media consultant, Goodluck Ebelo, said he has "no need or desire to seek asylum.

"Asylum for Nasir El-Rufai? Never. I have no other passport than my Nigerian passport and I intend to live the rest of my life and die in Nigeria." Mr. El-Rufia is quoted as having said in the statement.

The statement said that Mr. El-Rufai has expressed his desire to return to the country upon the completion of his studies at Harvard University, and that though "he has no need or desire to seek asylum," he "would not be stampeded to abandon his studies to make the government happy.

According to Mr. Ebelo, the former minister also insisted that he "has no apology" for making known his view on the "non-performance, inertia and cluelessness of the Yar'Adua government."

He stated that the former minister was aware that his comments on the government would draw a backlash, and so "he was not surprised by the viciousness of the lies spawned by these government officials," adding: "But they will not stop him from exercising his rights to all the safeguards the constitution affords a citizen, including free speech and the presumption of innocence."

The statement also affirms that the comments credited to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Aondoakaa, are prejudicial, since they have already pronounced El-Rufia guilty without the benefit of a trial.

Meanwhile, a press statement issued by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akererdolu, says the former minister has retained the services of the association to represent him in the eight count charge the EFCC has levelled against him.

According to the statement, the charges brought against Mr. El-Rufai are bogus and "it is crystal clear that it is a desperate move on the part of the government to nail Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and stifle alternative opinions in the land."

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Reader Comments (3)

Posted by Adeleke on Apr 18 2009

Our government officials are very funny peopole. The Haliburton case that is very obvious, they've refused to act on it. If they are sure El-Rufai has a case to answer they should go about it the way its done in other civilised societies and stop embarrasing the country. What has happened to the ex-govs that were earlier tried anyway?

Posted by Omo Alhaja on Apr 20 2009

This is a high-stakes political heavyweight boxing contest, made more poignant by the "David" image that el-Rufai has carefully cultivated against the Federal Government's "Goliath". Aondakaa and Waziri are clumsy incompetents who have fallen into the obvious trap set for them by el-Rufai. An Attorney-General pronouncing a "suspect" guilty calls the man's qualifications and PR savvy into serious question. However, I am intrigued that Segun Adeniyi is so slow to respond. Is it fear of challenging Nasir's obvious and well-articulated truths? We watch while the elephant's fight. This is one case where the grass may end up enjoying this punch-up.

Posted by Babansalama on Apr 20 2009

El-Rufa'i happened to be one of the finest lieutenants to have served Obasanjo's administration. He got so much entangled in the power of incumbency so much so that he violated any court order that does not go down well with him or his boss. While minister of FCT, El-Rufa’i, not only allocated juicy plots to his family members, he also went ahead to take over the residence of another no-good fellow because he fell out with his boss. His tenure at BPE is also a case in point. He pursued the privatisation exercise with an extraordinary zeal. This informed the irregularities we saw in the exercise which can at best be described as fraudulent and mischievous. I think El-Rufa'i deserves more than extradition, but prosecution.