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Tag: el-Rufai

  • El-Rufai’s back-duty accounting

    El-Rufai’s back-duty accounting

    There is often a need for Malam El-Rufai to seek attention, even for the wrong reason.  When he is not goofing about the state of the APC, he is drawing ire from the youth of his new home Social Democratic Party – where he claims to be a member. But he is neither a tenant nor even landlord. He seems to be a squatter. He does even have shelter, and that makes his call for birds of the same feather who want to vacate their nests to be wary. They don’t want to move from a half-home – that is, APC – to homeless like him.

    Now, he is looking for new trouble where he used to call home. He charged recently that his successor has dropped the internally generated revenue levels from the heights he left it. Heights? He even came up with a figure for colour. But he got a mouthful from a man who should know. Jerry Adams, the executive chairman of Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS) has rolled out the figures and challenged the mouthy ex-governor who defected without an earthquake. He said El-Rufai acted based on” limited and inaccurate information, or perhaps deliberately chosen to distort facts.”

    El Rufai says he left with an average of N7 billion a month and that it has dropped to two billion naira. For a man who is yet to answer for a slew of allegations about money unaccounted for, he sure has gumption. It is an old tactic he deploys often. It is now too familiar and has lost its power to impress. He has shown he has diminished in imagination for new ways to divert attention from his time in office.

    Hardball hopes El Rufai can match Adams figure for figure, and logic for logic. What would he say to Adams’ assertion that his highest figure while in office was N59 billion a year, amounting to N4.9 billion a month.

    What would he say to Adams’ assertion that from 2019 to 2022, the IGR came from one-off inflows, including sale of government properties to the tune of N45 billion. “When these one-off inflows are discounted monthly, the revenue collection during the period paints a different picture,” state Adams.

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    So, he was boosting figures by dismantling and auctioning what he met the ground, not what he created.

    Then he lays bare the figures under Governor Uba Sani, and he is free to dispute the figures, with evidence of course. Adams said in 2023, the state recorded N62.48 billion and in 2024, N71 billion and these will average N5.2 billion and N6.0 billion monthly in IGR.

    For 2025, already, it seems to be even rosier. Here Adams. “For January and February 2025 alone,” wrote Adams, “Kaduna State has already collected N7.46 billion and N6.68 billion, respectively, totaling N14.16 billion in just two months – without any back-duty recoveries.”

    El Rufai also alleged that the government transferred N100 million to an unknown individual. Adams counters that every transaction undertakes the process of the Treasury Single Account. No anonymity. Over to you, former governor!

     He who alleges must prove. It makes little sense to throw figures, especially when those who live in glass houses are not wary to throw stones.

    The problem with El Rufai, it seems, is that he is becoming a loner, more and more. Not even the new coalition of frustrated men he is looking for will trust him, especially when the man he is working with, for now, is Atiku Abubakar who knowsa him too well.

  • JUST IN: Kaduna denies El-Rufai’s claims on declining revenue

    JUST IN: Kaduna denies El-Rufai’s claims on declining revenue

    The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) has dismissed claims by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai regarding a decline in the state’s monthly revenue and alleged illegal transfer of ₦100 million from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) account.

    Speaking at a news conference, the Executive Chairman of KADIRS, Jerry Adams, stated that the revenue service has experienced significant growth under the current administration, surpassing the figures recorded during El-Rufai’s tenure.

    “It has become necessary to address certain claims made by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai. While he may have acted based on limited or inaccurate information, or perhaps deliberately chosen to distort facts, it is imperative to clarify these issues for the discerning public,” Adams said.

    El-Rufai claimed that Kaduna’s monthly IGR dropped from ₦7 billion to ₦2 billion under Governor Uba Sani. 

    However, Adams countered this by explaining that the highest revenue collected during El-Rufai’s administration was ₦59 billion in 2022, translating to an average of ₦4.9 billion per month.

    He further noted that a substantial portion of the revenue from 2019 to 2022 came from one-off inflows, including back-duty recoveries and sales of government properties amounting to ₦45 billion.

    “When these one-off inflows are discounted, the actual monthly revenue collection during that period paints a different picture,” Adams added.

    Addressing the allegation of ₦100 million transfers to an unknown individual, Adams described it as “completely false,” explaining that the state’s revenue collection process is fully automated, with payments made through the PAYKADUNA portal and directly deposited into the state’s Treasury Single Account (TSA).

    Read Also: 2027: DWI accuses Atiku, El-Rufai of misleading Nigerians

    He emphasized that under the Uba Sani administration, Kaduna’s revenue has improved significantly.

    According to him: “In 2023, Kaduna State recorded an IGR of ₦62.48 billion, and in 2024, the figure rose to ₦71 billion—an average monthly collection of ₦5.2 billion and ₦6.0 billion, respectively,” he said.

    “For January and February 2025 alone, Kaduna State has already collected ₦7.46 billion and ₦6.68 billion, respectively, totaling ₦14.16 billion in just two months—without any back-duty recoveries. 

    “This demonstrates the administration’s unwavering commitment to revenue mobilization and sustainable governance.”

  • 2027: DWI accuses Atiku, El-Rufai of misleading Nigerians

    2027: DWI accuses Atiku, El-Rufai of misleading Nigerians

    …lambasts politicians over past failures, empty promises

    The Democracy Watch Initiative (DWI) on Sunday criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing them of seeking political relevance by misleading Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general elections.

    The group condemned what it described as the duo’s hypocrisy and deception, highlighting their past governance failures and their role in Nigeria’s ongoing economic and security challenges.

    In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communication, Dr. AbdulRazak Ahmed, DWI reminded Nigerians that both Atiku and El-Rufai were key players in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party they now openly criticize.

    The organization called for a new era of leadership that prioritizes democracy, accountability, and the well-being of Nigerians over personal political ambition.

    Ahmed said: “This legacy raises critical questions about their current coalitions and genuine commitment to reform.The assertion that Atiku and El-Rufai are “all over the place attempting to deceive the people that they are saviors” underscores a critical perspective on their political maneuvers.

    “This movement has given rise to a growing skepticism among the electorate regarding the authenticity of their claims and intentions. As these figures seek to position themselves as solutions to pressing societal issues, it raises questions about their past actions and the credibility of their promises.

    “The history of these politicians is one marred by contradictions and a lack of accountability. All of them were integral to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party that has been in power for several years.

    “Their current criticisms of the APC, which they helped establish, raise questions about their sincerity and the motivations behind their sudden shift in allegiance. It is essential for Nigerians to remember that these politicians were not merely bystanders in the political process; they were key players who benefited from the very systems they now denounce.

    “DWI notes also that Nigeria has witnessed a plethora of challenges, including economic instability, widespread corruption, and inadequate infrastructure. Despite the opportunities presented by their long tenures in government, these politicians have little to show for their years of service.

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    “The citizens have endured the consequences of their decisions, particularly regarding the subsidy regime. They benefited from subsidies during their time in power, only to later advocate for their removal, leading to increased hardship for ordinary Nigerians.

    “The removal of subsidies was implemented under the guise of economic reform, yet it disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable segments of society, exacerbating poverty and suffering.

    The group also blasted Atiku and El-Rufai for their silence during Nigeria’s worst security crises, including the rise of insurgency and banditry that has ravaged communities across the country.

    He added: “While the nation has grappled with the devastating impacts of insurgency and banditry, Atiku and his allies have remained conspicuously silent, folding their arms as communities were ravaged and lives were lost. This hypocrisy is not merely a political misstep; it is a betrayal of the trust bestowed upon them by the electorate.

    “As Atiku prepares to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2027 election cycle, he has assembled a coalition of disgruntled and irrelevant political figures, individuals who have long overstayed their welcome in a political landscape yearning for genuine leadership.

    “This coalition, which includes a parade of political has-beens such as the former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal, serves as a glaring testament to the lack of credible vision for Nigeria’s future.

    “Their gathering was less a strategic alliance and more a shameful display of political theater, revealing their desperation to regain relevance amid a populace that has grown weary of empty promises and failed governance.”

    The organization urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and reject the attempts of these politicians to rebrand themselves as champions of democracy.

  • LG funds: ALGON slams El-Rufai, absolves Gov Sani of allegations

    LG funds: ALGON slams El-Rufai, absolves Gov Sani of allegations

    …says ‘you made riot damage deductions of LG funds under your tenure’

    Chairmen of the 23 Local Government Councils of Kaduna State under the auspices of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), have said that the allegation leveled by ex Governor Nasir El Rufai regarding the siphoning of funds are false, patently absurd and ill-intentioned.

    It said on the contrary, it was the former Governor El-Rufai who during his tenure 

    introduced and recklessly implemented ‘Riot Damage Deductions’ targeted at local governments in Southern Kaduna.

    ALGON further said that, “the allegations are meant to mislead the public, create disaffection, and ridicule the all-inclusive, pro-poor and people-oriented administration in Kaduna State.”

    It will be recalled that the former Governor had accused Governor Uba Sani of diverting local government funds to purchase property in Seychelles, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

    Addressing press conference on Tuesday, the spokesperson of ALGON, Alhaji Muhammad Lawal Shehu said that ‘’the Governor Uba Administration stands for the rule of law and due process.

    Transparency and accountability are its watchwords. It supports and respects the financial autonomy of Local Governments. It has never tampered with the funds of local governments,’’ he said.

    The spokesman further added that on the contrary, the Uba Sani administration ‘’ has been taking measures and executing programmes and projects to complement the efforts of local governments.”

    Alhaji Muhammad recalled that ‘’some of us served as Local Government Chairmen when Mal. Nasir el-Rufai was in office as Governor. We can testify to the fact that what we have been receiving as monthly allocation since Senator Uba Sani became Governor is more than double the amount we received during Mal El-Rufai’s administration.

    Read Also: El-Rufai ‘stands diminished’ with his action, says APC

    “Apart from enhanced monthly allocations, we have been operating in an atmosphere devoid of harassment and intimidation, unlike Mal El-Rufai’s era that was marked by highhandedness and coercion,’’ he added.

    The spokesman further recalled ‘’that during his turbulent and divisive administration, Malam Nasir El-Rufai introduced and recklessly implemented ‘Riot Damage Deductions’ targeted at local governments in Southern Kaduna.

    “It was a policy of “collective punishment” for Southern Kaduna people for not supporting his administration. This ill-advised action created disharmony and deepened inter-ethnic tensions in the state. Thankfully, this divisive policy has been reversed by the Senator Uba Uba Administration,’’ he added.

    According to Alhaji Muhammad, ‘’Governor Uba Sani’s Administration’s Rural Transformation Programme has been pivotal in revitalizing rural economies and giving rural dwellers a new lease of life.

    “Hitherto inaccessible areas have been opened up, rural agriculture has been revived, jobs are been created, and security and peace have been restored,’’ he further said.

    The ALGON spokesman further said that the Association ‘’ expected a person of Mal. Nasir El-Rufai’s calibre to cross-check his facts before going public,’’ adding that ‘’Chairmen of the 23 Local Governments in Kaduna State are settling down to the business of governance.’’

    “We are in a hurry to address the developmental challenges facing our people. We enjoy the confidence and support of the Governor Uba Sani Administration. We have never had cause to complain about the government’s actions,’’ he disclosed.

    The spokesman advised members of the public to disregard the statement credited to Mal. Nasir El-Rufai because ‘’they are wild allegations not supported by facts.’’

  • El-Rufai ‘stands diminished’ with his action, says APC

    El-Rufai ‘stands diminished’ with his action, says APC

    Former Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai came under more scathing criticism yesterday with the All Progressives Congress (APC) berating him over his “vengeful desire to de-market” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling party.

    Advising El-Rufai to quit sulking, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka reiterated the party’s unwavering commitment to its founding values and progressive ideals, contrary to the former governor’s claims.

    Speaking recently on the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on why he defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai alleged that the APC had deviated from the progressive ideals of its founding fathers.

    He also claimed that the ruling party had turned into a platform where personal interests get priority over and above national interests.

    But Morka countered El-Rufai’s claims in a statement yesterday.

    On Sunday, former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido rebuffed El-Rufai’s invitation to join the SDP.

    Lamido, who derided the call, said it stands logic on its head for PDP leaders to dump their platform for the SDP.

    The APC spokesman described the former governor’s comments as reactions from “a self-interested politician, blinded by ego, driven by untamed emotion, and brimming with a vengeful desire to collapse the system.”

    Morka said the allegation that the party “is drifting from its founding values exists only in El-Rufai foggy imagination”.

    He noted that El-Rufai’s bitterness against the APC had nothing to do with national interest but his own personal interest, having failed to get ministerial slot.

    The statement reads: “Today, El-Rufai stands diminished as the epitome of a self-interested politician, blinded by ego, driven by untamed emotion, and brimming with a vengeful desire to “collapse the system.

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    “In his BBC interview under reference, El-Rufai supplied the real reason for his soreness, stating that he was disappointed by the way he was treated by  President Bola Tinubu and his administration, in ostensible reference to his failed ministerial bid.

    “His claim that he exited because the Party had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology is a smokescreen to weaponize personal grievance garbed as principled dissent.  El-Rufai’s appears traumatized by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform on which he rode to political prominence.”

    According to Morka, APC’s commitment to its founding values and ideals remain as valid and progressive today as they were then.

    He said: “El-Rufai’s allegation of a drift from our Party’s founding values exists only in his foggy imagination. Assuming that matters of political conviction had anything to do with his exit, exactly how is the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai’s new political abode, an ideological safe haven?

    “El-Rufai’s call for opposition members to join him under SDP banner is nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness and delusion of grandeur.

    “Nigerians are far more savvy than El-Rufai thinks, and they know that he is driven by raw self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country.

    “Our great Party is unfazed by El-Rufai’s grudge-laden tirade. We continue to welcome millions of new members across the country, who are joining to identify with the Party’s lofty values and support President Tinubu’s bold and transformative policies now birthing sustainable growth and prosperity for our country.”

    The party further picked holes in the claim that Tinubu has failed.

    It said: “El-Rufai’s claim that Tinubu has failed is as outrageous as it is bogus, and a gross distortion of the reality on the ground.

    “Across all sectors, Nigerians are witnessing tangible progress in the delivery of the President’s campaign promises. Indisputably, Nigeria is better off today than when he took office.

    “President Tinubu has demonstrated an ironclad commitment to good governance and launched unprecedented policy reforms to address the country’s generational challenges. The removal of fuel subsidy now saves Nigeria an estimated N4 trillion annually.

    “The unification of exchange rates has resulted in higher foreign exchange inflow, while the country’s foreign reserves have showed resilient growth despite global economic pressures.

    “President Tinubu’s economic diplomacy has attracted significant foreign direct investment, and reforms in customs and taxation have led to a massive increase in non-oil revenues, while sustained reform in oil and gas sector has led to an historic boost in the country’s oil export, now upwards of 1.8 million barrels per day.

    “The President’s strong political will to re-imagine and revitalize Nigeria’s economy is paying off with significant improvement in the country’s GDP 9gross Domestic Product) growth rate now surging to 3.8 per cent year-on-year in Q4 2024, up from 3.46 per cent in the previous quarter, marking the highest growth rate posted since Q4 2021.

    “This is a direct outcome of the administration’s prudent economic policies and providing a favorable business environment that is widely applauded by the international financial and investment community.

    “Further, Nigeria’s balance of payment has seen remarkable improvement, with a substantial trade surplus of $14.31 billion in 2024.

    “This is a result of the administration’s vigorous promotion of non-oil exports, reduced reliance on imported goods, and diversification of the country’s economy.”

  • El-Rufai and the rump of the rooster

    El-Rufai and the rump of the rooster

    • By Kene Obiezu

    Sir: A wild leap of faith has taken him to the Social Democratic Party. This statement would have been correct or at least uncontroverted by those who know Nasir El-Rufai, the former Kaduna State governor, but for the fact that he is not known to be a man of faith or fortitude. A lot of what he has raked in from Nigeria’s wildly fluctuating harvest of mindless politics he owes to fate.

    He was a king during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, calling the shots in the FCT, and pulling down house after house. Yet, bitterness was the only thing he took with him when he left office in 2007. He spent the succeeding years criticizing both the administrations of Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan before joining the APC and becoming governor of Kaduna State in 2015.

    His time as governor of Kaduna State was an unmitigated disaster, especially for sections of the state which terrorists, emboldened by the complacency and complicity of silence, converted to killing fields.

    Read Also: Wike revokes 4,794 land titles over non-payment of ground rent in FCT

    He was whiskers away from becoming a minister. It remains a mystery how some last-minute horse-trading put paid to hid hopes of becoming minister. The number of cheers that rose from all over the country when it became conclusive that El-Rufai would not be part of the ministerial procession bespoke the number of people who found El-Rufai’s brand of politics objectionable.

    After he cupped up the disappointment of not becoming minister immediately after the expiration of his tenure as governor, El-Rufai did not exactly begin to cough up blood immediately. Rather, he took some time to regroup, and since a biting comeback launched via a blistering interview granted Arise TV, he has since defected to the Social Democratic Party while urging other political gladiators to follow suit.

    The monkey on El-Rufai’s back is that people do not trust him. Even those he is urging to jump ship and set up camp with him are suspicious of his motives and methods. He seems to be the archetype of the Nigerian politician who induces suspicion in others.

    That is the conundrum the El-rufai who was governor of Kaduna State, faces today. Once he is not part of an administration, his resort is often blistering but ultimately blind criticism. His  anger at his exclusion from the banquet is nothing new; neither is his desperation to claim scalps to soothe his battered ego.

    But the movement he is stirring this time around is doomed to fail. This is because he may struggle to convince anyone to back the project, especially among Nigerians many of  whom are utterly sick of his eccentric and extremist ways.

    •Kene Obiezu,

    keneobiezu@gmail.com

  • El-Rufai and Fubara: Accidental politicians?

    El-Rufai and Fubara: Accidental politicians?

    When Mallam Nasir El-Rufai referred to himself as an accidental public servant, it resonated with the public, because he approached public service with the mind-set of a private pursuit. A person who works for himself/herself determines what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. But a public servant does not hold all the aces. Public servants are guided by laid down procedures, interests and factors which sometimes are beyond their control. 

    This column recalls that after El-Rufai was propelled by forces to become the Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprise and later Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, he operated substantially as an accidental public servant. As Minister of FCT, Abuja, he cared not whose ox is gored in his single-minded determination to restore Abuja to its original master plan. While his bulldozers roared, those who appointed him were taking the heat and cleaning the fallout mess. 

    To get him to pass through the senate to become minister, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who nominated him, had to dye the wool, while El-Rufai was enjoying his night sleep. However, when El-Rufai saw that his godfather and benefactor, Atiku, had fallen out with President Olusegun Obasanjo, he shifted allegiance to the president and that shift allowed him to continue his pursuit of public service with the mind-set of a private person.

    With his intellectual sagacity, El-Rufai was able to endear himself to President Obasanjo, such that he became a member of the inner circle, otherwise called the kitchen cabinet of the president. While not knowledgeable in the crafty nuances of the public service and/or politics, his capacity to deliver on assignments, which served the purpose, shone brightly. So, with his work as the DG of BPE and Minister of FCT, El-Rufai acquired enough reputation to dream dreams and to assert himself.

    When Obasanjo’s successor, President Umaru Yar’Adua showed complete lack of appetite to the idiosyncrasies of El-Rufai, of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds, the accidental public servant saw danger and fled. With Yar’Adua, a scion of the northern oligarchy in power, there was no space for blackmail and shenanigans, and so El-Rufai decided to put his combustible energy to further studies abroad. Hibernating abroad and biding his time, an opening came with the death of Yar’Adua, and the subsequent President Goodluck Jonathan’s bid for a second term.

    Read Also: How economic predators ganged up against Tinubu over fuel subsidy removal, by Bamidele

    El-Rufai again put forward his sagacious intellect to the service of the emergent coalition of forces which metamorphosed into the All Progressive Congress (APC), the political behemoth that ousted the incumbent president and the candidate of his former party, the PDP. Since he was at the table where the sharing took place, he cornered for himself, Kaduna State as its gubernatorial candidate. With the bandwagon of Sai Baba, El-Rufai, swept into power as Kaduna State governor in 2015; and with the power of incumbency at state and federal levels, coupled with his religious divide and rule tactics, El-Rufai secured a second term in 2019.

    Out of power for merely two years, El-Rufai’s impudence and impatience is once again at play. Angry that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu refused to make him a minister, he has left the APC and has joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and is inviting every aggrieved member of APC, PDP and the distraught Labour Party (LP), to join in his new sojourn. Former President Buhari, who learnt the political ropes the hard way, quickly disassociated himself from the gamble.

    Of course, it would amount to political hara-kiri for Atiku Abubakar to accept to become a boy to his former boy (El-Rufai), by agreeing to follow him to his new gamble. The candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, will likely not take the bait considering the mess that El-Rufai as governor made of his relationship with the people of Kaduna south, mainly Christians. Considering the religious bigotry that El-Rufai left behind in Kaduna, which his successor, Uba Sani, with the help of President Tinubu is trying to clean up, with strategic appointments and social reengineering, no farsighted politician will jump ship with El-Rufai.       

    Unlike the time of his being an accidental civil servant when he had employers who were ready and willing to clean the mess he lives behind as his bulldozer rumbled through human and material resources in his political endeavour, in SDP, as he was in Kaduna as governor, he would either clean any mess he rakes up, or it will live with him. Going forward, even his past mess will be stirred by his adversaries and the stench may be quite overwhelming. One major explanation he owes Nigerians is his connection with the killer Fulanis whom he admitted he had paid to stop killing Nigerians, and why despite the bribe, they never stopped.

    The other accidental politician in the public space presently is Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State. Drafted from his perfunctory civil service duties as an accountant, Fubara was foisted on the highly octane gubernatorial post of the combustible Rivers State. To further compound his challenges, after winning, he immediately entered into a dogfight with his rambunctious former godfather-turned-foe, Nyesom Wike. A political warrior’s warrior, Wike, has shown himself a rancorous marathon fighter with the capacity to deliver upending uppercuts with devastating precisions.

    This column had wondered how Fubara managed to become a governor after he threw away the peace deal President Tinubu had helped him negotiate with Wike. Not only that, he told the president that he was a meddlesome interloper, and he was not obligated to obey his ‘unconstitutional’ peace deal. This column had wondered how Fubara wandered into the government house. Even when the loquacious Wike boasted that he would keep pushing Fubara, to keep making mistakes, like a man afflicted by Cyprian Ekwensi’s sokugo or wandering spirit, Fubara kept stumbling from one error to another.

    When the jungle was merely at its infancy, Governor Fubara naively claimed that the jungle has matured. Now that the Supreme Court has withdrawn the carpets he was standing on to grandstand and boast, he was locked out of ‘his property’ (the state legislative quarters) by the (legislators) he had naively inferred were ‘his tenants’. To show that he is an accidental politician, Fubara made a shameful visit to the estranged legislators, in the daytime, with his sirens blaring and the cameras clicking.

    If Fubara had any modicum of political sagacity, or even reasonable knowledge of history, philosophy, sociology or political science, he would have sent emissaries to make peace behind the scene, before the showboat of the disgraceful lockout. This column hopes Governor Fubara and Mallam El Rufai are not driving political cars without brakes?

  • APC to El-Rufai: Stop sulking, we remain focused

    APC to El-Rufai: Stop sulking, we remain focused

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticized former Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, over his recent comments against the party and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing him of pursuing a vengeful agenda.

    El-Rufai, in a recent interview with BBC Hausa, claimed the APC had abandoned its founding progressive ideals, prioritizing personal interests over national development.

    Responding in a statement on Monday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed El-Rufai’s remarks as the outburst of a “self-interested politician, blinded by ego and driven by untamed emotion.”

    Morka alleged that El-Rufai’s bitterness toward the party stemmed from his failure to secure a ministerial appointment, insisting that his claims of APC’s deviation from its values existed only in his imagination.

    “Today, El-Rufai stands diminished as the epitome of a self-interested politician, blinded by ego, driven by untamed emotion, and brimming with a vengeful desire to “collapse the system.”

    “In his BBC interview under reference, El-Rufai supplied the real reason for his soreness, stating that he was disappointed by the way he was treated by President Bola Tinubu and his administration, in ostensible reference to his failed ministerial bid. 

    “His claim that he exited because the Party had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology is a smokescreen to weaponize personal grievance garbed as principled dissent. El-Rufai’s appears traumatized by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform on which he rode to political prominence.”

    Morka maintained that APC’s commitment to its founding values and ideals remain as valid and progressive today as they were then. 

    “El-Rufai’s allegation of a drift from our Party’s founding values exists only in his foggy imagination. Assuming that matters of political conviction had anything to do with his exit, exactly how is the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai’s new political abode, an ideological safe haven? 

    “El-Rufai’s call for opposition members to join him under SDP banner is nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness and delusion of grandeur. Nigerians are far more savvy than El-Rufai thinks, and they know that he is driven by raw self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country.

    “Our great Party is unfazed by El-Rufai’s grudge-laden tirade. We continue to welcome millions of new members across the country, who are joining to identify with the Party’s lofty values and support President Tinubu’s bold and transformative policies now birthing sustainable growth and prosperity for our country.”

    The party further picked holes in the claim that Tinubu as failed. According to Morka, “El-Rufai’s claim that Tinubu has failed is as outrageous as it is bogus, and a gross distortion of the reality on the ground. Across all sectors, Nigerians are witnessing tangible progress in the delivery of the President’s campaign promises. Indisputably, Nigeria is better off today than when he took office.

    “President Tinubu has demonstrated an ironclad commitment to good governance and launched unprecedented policy reforms to address the country’s generational challenges. The removal of fuel subsidy now saves Nigeria an estimated ₦4 trillion annually. 

    “The unification of exchange rates has resulted in higher foreign exchange inflow, while the country’s foreign reserves have showed resilient growth despite global economic pressures. President Tinubu’s economic diplomacy has attracted significant foreign direct investment, and reforms in customs and taxation have led to a massive increase in non-oil revenues, while sustained reform in oil and gas sector has led to an historic boost in the country’s oil export, now upwards of 1.8 million barrels per day.

    “The President’s strong political will to re-imagine and revitalize Nigeria’s economy is paying off with significant improvement in the country’s GDP growth rate now surging to 3.8% year-on-year in Q4 2024, up from 3.46% in the previous quarter, marking the highest growth rate posted since Q4 2021. 

    “This is a direct outcome of the administration’s prudent economic policies and providing a favorable business environment that is widely applauded by the international financial and investment community.

    “Further, Nigeria’s balance of payment has seen remarkable improvement, with a substantial trade surplus of $14.31 billion in 2024. This is a result of the administration’s vigorous promotion of non-oil exports, reduced reliance on imported goods, and diversification of the country’s economy.

    Read Also: To El-Rufai and co-travellers

    “This impressive performance precedes an impending data overhaul which may reveal an economy larger than initially estimated. Prospects for further growth is assuredly bright, with real GDP projected to increase from 3.0% in 2024 to 3.6% in 2025, according to Afreximbank Trade Intelligence Solutions.

    “In addition, under President Tinubu’s steady leadership, state and local governments now receive vastly higher allocations from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), enabling them to extend development to their people. This increased funding has become a potential game-changer for grassroots development, making it possible for the execution of critical projects and provision of essential services to all Nigerians.

    Nigerians are in no doubt about President Tinubu’s uncompromising commitment to economic reform, good governance, and improving the welfare of Nigerians. 

    “Rather than engaging in scurrilous propaganda and deliberate misinformation, El-Rufai should offer constructive criticism or alternative policies as expected of serious minded political opposition. His misleading rhetoric and personal attacks on the President are reprehensible and calculated to undermine the country’s progress.”

    Admitting that El-Rufai is free to choose his political affiliation, Morka advised him to “quit sulking, get a grip and salvage some respectability.”

  • To El-Rufai and co-travellers

    To El-Rufai and co-travellers

    Sir: It is still some days to May 29, 2025 – the second anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration as the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, yet politicians, fifth columnists and their ilk are already focused on the 2027 presidential election.

    While it is true that politics and politicking never stop, Nigerian politicians’ penchant for unhealthy concentration on the next election immediately after one had barely been concluded, often leads to unhealthy political strategies and manoeuvring, permutation, reinforcement, and re-alignments that undermine the administration and the country. These political moves, often with sabotaging intent, can lead to distractions and derail a sitting government if it is not probably handled.

    The main opposition parties and figures have been at it – from disgruntled elements within the ruling APC, by a certain Malam Nasir El-Rufai, whose dream for another ministerial appointment was scuttled, to the various other elements. The plot is thickening.

    Those who are angling to unseat Tinubu are adopting the playbook machinated by the current president to outmanoeuvre the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the election of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2025. But it is pertinent to inform the authors that the current political landscape is different and the forces are also not the same as they were in 2015.

    Interestingly, the figure at the centre of this well-publicized clandestine meetings and congregations of major opposition politicians and some disgruntled Machiavellian politicians within the APC fold is the man who wrote the manual for that move and was critically involved in the execution of that plot. Asiwaju Tinubu, who was an ‘inconsequential’ politician when he pulled that stunt in 2015, is the president they are plotting to unseat.

    The political dynamics and parameters precipitating the organic political alignment at the time, and the unanimity of the purpose of the major stakeholders that facilitated that merger are absent from current polity and political gang-up against the sitting president and ruling APC.

    Read Also: Mabel Segun’s last interview with The Nation: “…What is killing us in Nigeria”

    The desperation and inordinate quest for power of an individual that has led to the lingering crisis and fractionalization of PDP remains unabated; the unending discords and disintegration of the Labour Party and NNPP, cemented by the unprecedented influx of the bigwigs from the main opposition parties into the ruling APC thereby consolidating the strength and its strongholds.

    As they are wont to do, politicians are adducing diverse excuses for their move. Yet, only those who do not wish the country well would join in the gang up to stop the determination and audacious moves of the president to follow through with his critical reform programs without any recourse to political calculations. Tinubu, since his inauguration in 2023, has left politicking to politicians, as he morphed into a statesman and leader of Nigeria, whose only interest is what is best for the country, and not for individuals or parties.

    President Tinubu’s push for policies and programs to make the country attractive and its economy competitive is one yet unseen in the history of this country. He is deliberately and intentionally focused on improving security, economy, infrastructure, education, and agriculture. His unprecedented focus on improving the key indices of development is beginning to yield positive effects coming through a steady increase in crude oil production, with the involvement of critical stakeholders in the sector, agricultural revolution, laudable reform of our archaic tax regime, and availability of petroleum products with competitive pricing across the country.

    The president is fixing Nigeria’s fundamental and generational issues; he is tackling them despite the difficulties. True statesmanship involves recognizing the inevitable sacrifice needed by both the political class and the citizenry. It is not latching in on the painful, but needful policies to score cheap political goals. We cannot fix Nigeria’s problems with the mind-set with which they were created. This is why it is disturbing that so-called politicians are hiding behind these reforms to propagate their sectarian and selfish agenda and disguise their inordinate quest for power.

    For those sectional and geopolitical leaders trying to whip up sentiments and turn the populace against well-meaning reforms, those who are romancing and promoting the inequity in the hitherto structure of this country, I urge them to be careful. We cannot continue to use programs and agendas that continue to tie down the country just because we want to remain relevant in every administration or because we want to benefit at the expense of the country and the masses.

    •Lanre Atere,United Kingdom.

  • Lamido: El-Rufai driven by emotion

    Lamido: El-Rufai driven by emotion

    Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai who last week defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is driven by emotion and not by the general well-being of the people, Alhaji Sule Lamido has said.

    “We should not fight (President Bola Ahmed) Tinubu just because we are angry at him or seek revenge.

    “Leadership should be about prioritising the country’s well-being rather than personal emotions,” Lamido said in an interview aired on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) at the weekend.

    Lamido flayed El-Rufai’s call for senior opposition figures to join him in the SDP to fight President Tinubu in 2027.

    He said: “With all due respect, how does he expect us in PDP to leave and join another party?

    “The PDP that we built is the same party that made him who he is today. How can a grandson claim his grandfather knows nothing?” 

    Lamido, a founding member of the PDP, said it would be fool-hardy for El-Rufai to think that anyone would want to join him in his new political sojourn simply because he wants President Tinubu defeated in 2027.

    Lamido, a one-time foreign affairs minister and two-time governor of Jigawa State has been in politics since the second republic.

    In the aborted third republic, he was National Secretary of the SDP, one of the two parties created by former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and on whose platform the late Bashorun MKO Abiola contested and won the presidential election in 1993, although the election was annulled by the military and he was denied the fruit of his victory.

    Abiola defeated Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC).

    Read Also: 2027: Will Buhari reciprocate Tinubu alliance as payback?

    El-Rufai, after his defection, called on opposition leaders such as former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, erstwhile Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola to join him in the SDP.

    Lamido, a member of the G-34 that metamorphosed into the PDP in 1998, recalled that El-Rufai once declared there were no political elders in Nigeria.

    He insisted that he and his allies were the true power brokers.

    “But now, he claims he got the counsel of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “If he truly had the power he once boasted of, why did he have to seek Buhari’s counsel?” Lamido asked.

    The former governor stressed that despite PDP’s internal challenges, it remained his political home.

    “If PDP is struggling today, it is still the party that nurtured El-Rufai.

    “If he claims the PDP is dead, then he must remember that it is the party that gave him his political foundation. ‘’Whatever he has achieved today, PDP made it possible.”

    Lamido argued that if he had any intention of leaving PDP, he would have done so in 2014 when APC was formed.

    “If I didn’t join APC in 2014 when I was invited, and they left PDP out of anger, why are they now leaving APC? What has APC done to them?” he asked.

    He maintained that governance should not be driven by emotions or personal grudges.

    “Leadership is about patience, foresight, and working for the peace of the people and the nation.

    “If you allow emotions to dictate your decisions, you will never lead objectively.”

    Lamido stressed that if anyone’s goal is to unseat President Tinubu, it should not be based on personal grievances but on national interest.

    Lamido urged politicians to focus on strengthening the country rather than making decisions based on resentment.

    Kaduna traders rally support for President, Sani

    At the weekend, members of market associations and women groups in Kaduna metropolis staged a peaceful demonstration against El-Rufai.

    They reiterated their loyalty and support to President Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani.

    The protesters who recalled their bitter experiences during the El-Rufa’i administration advised residents of the state not to be deceived by the former governor.

    They said: “For over 40 years, we never experienced the kind of setbacks we suffered under the previous governor.

    “A lot of lives were lost, a lot of finances were ruined because of his kind of policies.

    “We are here to speak with one voice and say that anything that would revive such kind of philosophy in Kaduna markets, we don’t want it,” they said.  

    Chairman of the Kaduna  Market Traders Association, Alhaji Abdurrahman Mohammed, led the protest.   

    ‘No gang-up can stop Tinubu’

    In Osogbo, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said no amount of political gang-up can stop President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

    He advised those who believe that the President would fail to perish such thought because he has a winning strategy.

    Oyintiloye said: “No amount of political gang-up can stop the re-election of President Tinubu in 2027.

    “Those who are gathering against him should try and study the kind of person the President is.

    “He has the winning strategy, and he is raising men and women of goodwill across Nigeria.

    “His achievements, political sagacity, and love for the country will speak for him now and in the future.”

    Why North can’t dump Tinubu, by Housing minister

    Housing and Urban Development Minister Ahmed Dangiwa gave reasons the North should queue behind President Tinubu in 2027.

    According to him, it would be a grave mistake by the region, holding should it withhold support for the President.

    He listed the assigning of northerners to the ministries of Health, Defence, the Environment and Budget and National Planning as some of the reasons.

    Dangiwa, who spoke with The Nation in Abuja, said the president has favoured the North – both in appointment, infrastructural developments, economic and domestic empowerment, among others.

    He said: “He has met expectations in terms of key appointments.

    “We have Housing ministry, then Agriculture which is our major occupation. We also have Health. These three sectors are key.

    “Before, we used to have Education Ministry, but he also gave us the Environment, Budget and Planning.

    “Also, note that the Minister of Budget and Planning is more strategic than the Minister of Finance. Because he creates the budget, and puts money where he wants.

    “We have a problem of insecurity, I’m from the North. When he became President, he gave the Ministry of Defence to the region.

    “All the things he knew that were bothering us security-wise, he gave it to us to solve it for ourselves.”

    The minister further dismissed the opposition parties that are currently ganging up against President Tinubu and the APC.

    He said: “Who are our contenders? If you say PDP …, well PDP has been broken down and destabilised. Now some of them are trying to create a new platform just as APC emerged.

    “Unfortunately, they ran into the wrong hand – the SDP.

    “Even, if they succeed in creating such platforms and alliances, it’s too late.

    “For any political party to thrive and succeed, some elements are crucial – finance and support.

    “That’s why Buhari failed initially. Despite having so much support, there was no money until someone to finance the APC later came.”