Posted by By KINGSLEY OKEKE, Abuja on
Former Minister of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has defended his actions while in office, saying he is innocent of accusations of abusing his office. He said whatever he did was in the best interest of his fatherland.
Former Minister of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has defended his actions while in office, saying he is innocent of accusations of abusing his office. He said whatever he did was in the best interest of his fatherland.
El-Rufai has been on the firing line following his purported sale, to himself, of a guest house belonging to former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, against the advice of his boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
But the erstwhile minister told Daily Sun in Abuja on Thursday that he never used his office to appropriate the house in question. He insisted that all the necessary documents were available for verification by security agencies. He said he did what he did faithfully to the best of his ability and guided by the strictest sense of transparency and integrity.
The sale of the guest house, located at the high brow Mambila Street, Aso Drive, has pitted the ex-minister against the aides of the former vice-president, who accuse him of abuse of office. They insist that contrary to El-Rufai's claim that Obasanjo had approved the sale of the house to the former minister, the exPresident Olusegun Obasanjo had indeed, advised against the purchase of the house by El-Rufai.
The Atiku Campaign Organisation had alleged that the former vice-president had written to Obasanjo advising against the sale of guest houses attached to the office of the vice-president on the grounds that future occupants of the office would be in need of the facilities.
It said the president had, in response to Atiku's memo, written to both El-Rufai and Atiku, conveying the approval of the stoppage of the sales.
El-Rufai said he was enjoying his vacation and would not want to be drawn into needless altercation over the sale of the building since he knows his conscience was clear. He described the allegation against him as mere smear campaign.