Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said on Friday that nobody gave former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, his due credit for overseeing the economic policies implemented under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

 

El-Rufai stated that a great deal of good work was carried out under Atiku’s leadership during Obasanjo’s administration.

 

He made this remark during a condolence visit to the family of the late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, who passed away on Monday at the age of 97.

 

Atiku had led a delegation that included El-Rufai on the condolence visit.

 

In 1999, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, was reconstituted as an independent body without a board, reporting solely to the National Council on Privatisation NCP, which was chaired by Atiku.

 

Atiku was also chairman of the National Economic Council, NEC, and head of the National Council on Privatisation, overseeing the sale of hundreds of loss-making and poorly managed public enterprises, alongside El-Rufai.

 

El-Rufai said: “Nobody gives Alhaji Atiku Abubakar the credit for economic policymaking under the Obasanjo administration. Many of the things we did, we did under his leadership. Maybe because we don’t write a lot and people don’t read history.

 

“We tend to forget, only remember negative things. Maybe it is part of human nature to recall only the negatives and forget the positives.

 

“I am honoured and humbled to come with VP Atiku to condole with this family and commend the work that Clark has done. I call on you as a family to always continue the good work.

 

“The most important part of that good work is to always continue what he has always stood for—One Nigeria.”

 

Shortly after the condolence visit, Atiku and El-Rufai observed Jummat prayers together at a mosque in Abuja.

 

El-Rufai recently stirred the hornet’s nest when he criticised the All Progressives Congress-led government under President Bola Tinubu.

 

The former governor stated that he no longer recognises the party due to a lack of internal democracy.

 

He claimed that the organs of the party had not met in the past two years under President Bola Tinubu.

 

Despite the criticisms that followed El-Rufai’s comments, Tinubu nonetheless felicitated with him on his birthday a few days ago.

 

Meanwhile, Atiku recently met with former military Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, at his hilltop residence in Minna, Niger State.

 

Before that, Atiku had met with Obasanjo at his residence in Ota, Ogun State.