After finding his way to power through constant criticisms, the member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Bello El-Ruafi, says he regrets criticising the administration of former of former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
Hon Bello who is the son of former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, while speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, admitted that he was naive in his criticism of Jonathan.
According to him, this naivety was responsible for his not realising that there was proper governance in the country during Jonathan’s administration.
The vocal critic and All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker revealed that he realised he was wrong in criticising Jonathan after his father in the recent past told him about going to visit Jonathan for political talks.
“I visited my father after I became a member and I saw him wearing a polo shirt and I said ‘where are you going?’ And he said he was going to see President Jonathan, and I paused because when I was naive or when I thought ego or gratification mattered, I used to be very active in criticising President Jonathan.
“I even forgot in my naivety as many young people do, that we had governance then and I found my father saying that he is going to consult President Jonathan. I said, ‘please when you see him, tell him I am very sorry, I am wiser now’.
“The system is a problem. Now, why did I mention President Jonathan? It takes a lot particularly in Africa to lose an election and leave, he did that,” Bello acknowledged.
He expressed support for the elevation of electoral reforms, including the electronic transmission of election results and however made it clear that he would not support any electoral amendment that would allow people to vote without a voter’s card.
