The member representing Kaduna North, federal constituency, Bello El-Rufai, has admitted to having wrongly criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He, however, said the criticism was done out of naivety.

The lawmaker, who is also the son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, stated this at an event organised by Channels TV to mark the 2025 Democracy Day celebration on Thursday.

Mr El-Rufai said his naivety prevented him from realising that there was governance in the country during Jonathan’s administration.

According to him, he came to the realisation of his naivety in criticising Jonathan after he saw his father going to visit the former president 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,” Mr El-Rufai said.