Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has urged top officials in President Bola Tinubu’s administration to be mindful of their legacy and remember that they will not hold power forever.
Speaking on Thursday at the public presentation of the book “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3b Nigerian Oil Bloc” authored by former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), El-Rufai emphasized the importance of reflecting on the future and cultivating a culture of truth-telling and accountability in public service.
“I appeal to those in power today to remember that their turn will come. Our turn always comes,” El-Rufai cautioned.
The event, held in Abuja, drew key political figures, legal minds, and civil society actors to discuss the controversial Malabu oil deal and its wider implications on Nigeria’s justice and governance systems.
El-Rufai praised Adoke’s book as a necessary documentation of a critical national saga, stating that such works help “set the record straight” and encourage a long-lost tradition of memoir writing in Nigeria’s public service.
Reflecting on the 2015 presidential transition, El-Rufai revealed that Adoke played a vital role in persuading then-President Goodluck Jonathan to concede defeat to Muhammadu Buhari, a gesture he said deserved gratitude rather than the persecution Adoke suffered under the Buhari administration.
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“We should actually thank him as the APC government of 2015, not persecute him,” El-Rufai declared.
“I had several discussions with President Buhari, as you know, I was very close to him, and I didn’t see that he had any extra interest in the matter apart from the rule of law.”
The OPL 245 saga also known as the Malabu oil deal scandal revolves around the controversial 2011 sale of a lucrative offshore oil bloc to oil giants Shell and Eni for $1.3 billion. At the heart of the scandal is the allegation that $1.1 billion of the sum was funneled as bribes to Nigerian politicians and officials through shadowy intermediaries.
Adoke, who as AGF was a central figure in the transaction, was later accused of wrongdoing by the Buhari administration. However, after years of legal battles, he was acquitted both in Nigeria and abroad, with courts clearing him of any criminal liability in connection with the deal.
El-Rufai said he looked forward to reading the book to gain deeper insight into Adoke’s account of events, describing it as “a valuable addition to Nigeria’s public record.”