El-Rufai Needs Prayers & Psychological Asistance –Presidency

The Presidency on Sunday alleged that
the former FCT Minister who is also the
Deputy National Secretary of the All
Progressives Congress, Mallam Nasir El-
Rufai, was attacking President Goodluck
Jonathan, because he sought a favour
which was not granted.
A statement by the Special Assistant
(New Media) to the President, Mr. Reno
Omokri, in Abuja, described as
unfortunate, el-Rufai’s comments
contained in the interview published in a
national daily on Saturday.
Omokri said El-Rufai had also said in the
interview that “nothing can make
Jonathan succeed and that the President
is grossly incompetent, because he
doesn’t listen, and doesn’t even
understand the issues.”
But the Presidential aide urged the public
“not to be misled by the machinations of
el-Rufai, a man who is in dire need of
prayers and perhaps psychological
assistance.”
Omokri alleged that “Nasir el-Rufai
wanted something from the President
which was why he visited him at the
Presidential Villa to heap unsolicited
praise on the President in 2010.”
He added, “When he did not get what he
wanted, he became bitter and since the
days of yore when the fox that could not
get the grapes tagged them ‘sour grapes’
to mask its frustration, it has always been
the habit of persons who cannot compete
on the basis of ideas to give a dog a bad
name in order to hang it.”
“Thus, El-Rufai, having run out of ideas,
has tagged this administration as
‘incompetent,” Omokri stated.
But El-Rufai through his media advisor,
Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, challenged the
Presidency to make public the request he
made which was turned down by
Jonathan.
He noted that el- Rufai had anticipated
the discomfort which his latest newspaper
interview would cause the Presidency, and
he was not surprised by the resort to
innuendos in the statement the Presidency
released.
He said, “The personal attacks on me
cannot redress the competence deficit that
afflicts this government or make the poor
performance go away.
“I have never asked anything from the
Jonathan government, and I challenge
them to make public any such request.
The history of my meetings with Jonathan
upon my return from exile in 2010 is
detailed in my book.
“Jonathan is the one who requested my
support for his presidential ambition, a
request I declined. After the three
meetings in 2010, they have sent a
variety of people to solicit cooperation
and make offers which I have rejected.
“Regarding my relationship with General
Muhammad Buhari, there is no doubt that
we have had our differences. But we have
put those behind us in our quest to help
this country achieve the quality of
leadership that can pull it from potential
to greatness.
“Some of us speak candidly, but we are
also educated enough to act on new
information and reflections,” he added.
Omokri nevertheless recalled that contrary
to his position in the interview, El-Rufai
had at a meeting with Ambassador John
Campbell in April of 2007 described
Jonathan, the then Vice Presidential
nominee of the People’s Democratic
Party, as a clean and honest leader”.
He also added that El Rufai had told the
ambassador that “Jonathan was the only
candidate that met Obasanjo’s guidelines,
which was honesty and being an Ijaw.”