• Presidential spokesman cites Obasanjo’s jibe at ex-governor
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Special Adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has berated former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for his comment against the President’s administration.
In an interview on a national television, El-Rufai had said President Tinubu would require a miracle to secure re-election in 2027.
El-Rufai also said a poll conducted by his group in various regions, particularly in the Southeast and the North, showed a 91 per cent disapproval rating for the President.
According to him, the disapproval rating in Lagos stands at 78 per cent.
In his post on X yesterday, Onanuga referenced a remark made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his three-part memoir, titled: My Watch — Against El-Rufai.
The presidential spokesman said the former Kaduna State governor always tried to elevate himself, giving the impression of having more “height” than he really stands.
READ ALSO: Why is Nasir El-Rufai so desperate?
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological. Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent,” Onanuga posted excerpt from Obasanjo’s book.
“At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.
“He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends. I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.
“I shuddered when I heard the story of what he did to his half-brother in the Air Force, who is senior to him in age.”
In the memoir published in 2014, Obasanjo said El-Rufai was battling what he called the “small man syndrome”.
The former President appointed El-Rufai the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 2003 to 2007.
El-Rufai is currently one of the opposition political leaders organising a coalition in their bid to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March, the el-Rufai resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).