The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, says it would be difficult for the All Progressives Congress, APC, to defeat his Oyo state counterpart, Seyi Makinde in 2023.
El-Rufai spoke on Friday at the commemoration and send-off ceremony organised for Nteranya Sanginga, the outgoing director-general of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, IITA, held at the IITA Conference Centre, Ibadan.
He said the APC would try its best to unseat his Oyo counterpart but noted that it would be tough as Makinde had governed well.
Both governors recounted how they had an argument during a sitting of the National Executive Council, NEC, on whether to lock down states in the heat of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019, but resolved to do what they felt was best for their respective states.
His words, “After that debate, I went back to my state and I locked it down. Seyi went back to his state and did what he called a partial lockdown, but he locked himself down because he got COVID.
“The beauty of Nigeria is its diversity. In my state, I did what I felt was the right thing and he did what was best for his state.
“We’ll do our best to defeat you. But I know it will be tough because you’ve been a good governor.” 
el- Rufai then lauded Sanginga for the courage and hard work he put into transforming IITA.
According to him, “As Nigerians, we’re very grateful to you for what you have done here because each and every state in Nigeria is a beneficiary of the groundbreaking research that you have done.
“Both of you (Sanginga) and Akinwumi Adesina of AfDB, are breaking ground along with others and you give our children hope that Africa can be anything it wants to be if it works hard.”
Also commenting, Makinde said it was exciting to have worked with IITA on several projects in line with his administration’s vision to expand the state’s economy through agribusiness and to encourage youths to exploit the opportunities in the sector.
“There are so many lessons to learn from this great man because of his brilliance, passion and leadership style. We have worked together on several projects and I have no fears or worries about letting IITA lead projects such as the STEP. 
“He asked me to come down to Fasola and I saw the pictures of ‘before and after’ and the students fried chin-chin, baked cake, which got me thinking that I used to have the same opportunity at Bishop Philips Academy but we lost it along the line.
“So, I asked him to extend the programme to all the senatorial districts in the state and we picked one school per senatorial district; and now, the programme has spread to 13 schools in Oyo state.
“This is the electioneering period, and I want to use this opportunity to tell the people of Oyo state that if I am given another opportunity to serve, we will take the Start Them Early Programme to more schools in the state.”
The event also witnessed the launching of Sanginga’s autobiography, ‘Leadership in African Agriculture," he added.
Other dignitaries present on the occasion included Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, AfDB; former governor of Oyo state, Rashidi Ladoja as well as the representatives of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi.