How Obasanjo blocked El-Rufai from emerging president in 2007 - Fani-Kayode

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Femi Fani-Kayode

In the last episode of interviews with him, we challenged Femi Fani-Kayode on his complicity in Nigeria's current state. He threw up details of inner dealings in Aso Rock you have never heard before
In the last part of our  interview with him, former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, opens up on the  inner dealings and manoeuvring  within  Aso Rock that, in 2006,  threw up late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as  presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.

He reveals the powerful intrigues that led Mr. Obasanjo and the PDP to dump Peter Odili, who was coasting to victory, for Mr. Yar’Adua.

The former minister said most of the hawks in Obasanjo's government actually tipped a former Minister of the FCT, Nasir El-Rufai as the then president's successor.

But at a crucial meeting of the administration's inner caucus, where Mr. El-Rufai enjoyed overwhelming support, Mr. Obasanjo  rejected the proposal and gave a marching order to his ministers to work hard for Mr. Yar'Adua's emergence as president.

The then president's stance  divided the ruling caucus, with a few elements in the administration backing him while majority continued to root for Mr. El-Rufai.

Mr Fani-Kayode said the reason his group did not want Yar’Adua was because he was not exposed at the time.

He listed other reasons you will find in the interview. But in the end, “...Baba chose to go with the other group,” he said.

He said he has since reviewed the period with Mr. Obasanjo and is sure the witty ex-president regrets the choice he made at the time.

“It's time to set the record straight,” he said.