Governor of Kaduna State Malam Nasir El-Rufai believes by working directly with the people, it is easy to put an end to the scourge of godfatherism plaguing the country.
While speaking at an event organised by the Bridge Club, in Ikoyi, Lagos on Saturday, the governor said godfathers only exist on paper and in the minds of the people.
During the event tagged: “An evening with His Excellency Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State”, El-Rufai said if he could defeat all political godfathers in Kaduna State to become a two-term governor, it could be done elsewhere, including Lagos State.
The former minister said he achieved the feat by canvassing directly the electorate and that the same can be done anywhere else, including Lagos.
Relating to the Lagos scenario, El-Rufai said: “Here in Lagos, where you have over six million registered voters, only about a million voted (in 2019 general elections); five million did not vote.
“If I want to run for governor of Lagos, I will start now. I will commission a study to know why those five million registered voters did not vote; where do they go on election day? Then I will start visiting them for the next four years. I will try and get just two million of them to come and vote for me; I will defeat any godfather.
“The key is to go to the people. The card reader and the biometric register have given us the tools to connect directly with the people.
“I assure you if you do that for the next four years, connecting with the people; the tin godfather, you will retire him or her permanently. But it is hard work; it requires three to four years of hard work. So, if you want to run in 2023, you should start now.
“With about N2 billion, if you commission the experts they will give you the worth of your N2 billion investment.
“Many of the godfathers are either on paper or in the mind of people in politics. They are defeatable.
“We retired four of them in Kaduna State within a four-year time and they are gone. One of them boasted that he put me in the government house and he would take me out.”