Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, Governor Nasir El-Rufai says he will run for president if President Muhammadu Buhari insists, revealing that the president forced him to contest the Kaduna governorship.

When asked during a Channels TV interview if he would run for president if Mr Buhari tapped him for the job, he said, “I didn’t want to run for governor, but the president insisted. So, if he insists that I do something, I have so much regard for him and his judgment that I’ll do it even reluctantly.”

Mr El-Rufai also suggested he was physically unfit to endure the rigours of being Nigeria’s president come 2023. Mr Buhari’s poor health has been spotlighted, frequently jetting out of the country to seek medical treatment in the UK.

Speaking of his being unfit, the Kaduna governor explained, “I’m physically tired because I do take my work seriously. For the last eight years, I’ve worked myself flat out, and I’m not young anymore.”

He added, “I’ll be 63 next year. So I prefer to look at other options to contribute to the development of my country.”

Presidential front runner Bola Tinubu’s health status has also raised questions.

But last February, Mr Tinubu asserted, “I am the quality that Nigeria is looking for to make this country very great, prosperous and united, not only in Africa but in the world.” 

Responding to whether he is physically fit to be the next president, he stated, “If you hear them saying, can I do it? I am not applying for the job of a gravedigger; not race running, I am not a horse. I am not applying for bricklaying. I went to school to study accountancy and management. I am applying for a job of the brain; intelligent thinking; it is a job for someone who is ready to do things right.”