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Tag: Nasir el-Rufai

  • El-Rufai: SDP not interested in merger, high profile politicians

    El-Rufai: SDP not interested in merger, high profile politicians

    Former Kaduna Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has said the-Social Democratic Party (SDP) is not negotiating for a merger or coalition of small political parties but more interested in the masses than even the so called high profile politicians.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed in 2013 as a result of a merger of three largest opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) with a breakaway faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    El-Rufai, who was part of that merger and on whose platform he won the governorship, said the SDP is not bringing political parties together but registering people (voters) who like him, are not happy with the current administration.

    He spoke to journalists in Kano where he went to pay a courtesy call to the reinstated Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

    El-Rufai was also in Kano to discuss with SDP executives on how to build the party in the state and register at least three million people.

    “We don’t want the SDP to be about high profile individuals. You know, the SDP has had ex-Governors. We don’t care about that.

    “We want to see the SDP registering three million members in Kano. If we register three million members in Kano, I don’t care if the Governor joins us or not. I know that he’s either with us or he’s not.

    “That’s how democracies are supposed to work. We give too much premium on defections and high profile people,” he said.

    The former FCT minister also underestimated the power of serving Governors, adding that the SDP is not even interested in pulling them from other political parties, since a Governor, he said, has just one vote like the ordinary Nigerian.

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    “The fact that one governor from PDP has defected and so on, it’s nothing. We are not looking at governors. We are trying to offer Nigerians and Nigerian voters an alternative.

    “A Governor has only one vote. Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or 36 governors. It doesn’t matter if you collect 36 governors, if the people of Nigeria say we are not with you, it’s over.

    “The president (Bola Tinubu) had a sitting Governor but lost Lagos. So what is the value of a Governor? I was the governor of Kaduna state. I fought hard to deliver the President in my state but I lost.

    “Governors don’t determine election results. The people do. This is what many Nigerians forget.

    “And we want the SDP to remind them of that. So that’s our story. I am the first to join with some members of my group, but there are other groups and we are still talking,” he said.

    El-Rufai explained that his coming into the SDP has strengthened the party and it was part of his duty to canvass for membership across the country, particularly in states like Kano, where he noted, is the most important when it comes to voting.

    He said: “Since I joined the SDP, there has been some level of excitement in the party about many people wanting to join the movement.

    “And Kano, of course, is the most important state in Nigeria electorally. Kano doesn’t have the highest number of registered voters, but it has the highest number of people that actually come out to vote.

    “Lagos has more registered voters but Lagosians don’t vote. Kano people vote. And that’s why any serious politician will take Kano with a certain degree of focus.

    “Our chapter in Kano has excellent quality leadership, but we still need to build the party. And it is part of my responsibility as a senior member of the party now, a member of the National Executive Committee of the party, to help in that regard. So this is the second reason why I’m in Kano.”

  • El-Rufai not our member, says Kaduna SDP

    El-Rufai not our member, says Kaduna SDP

    The Kaduna State Chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has disowned former governor Nasir El-Rufai, stating that he is not a recognised member of the party in the state.

    The former Kaduna State governor and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir El-Rufai, had dumped the ruling party for the Social Democratic Party.

    The former governor cited a growing misalignment between his personal values and the current direction of the APC as the primary reason for his decision.

    El-Rufai had  disclosed this in a post on his X handle recently, where he expressed his disappointment with the APC’s leadership, accusing the party of straying from the progressive ideals of its founding members.

    “As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC. Since 2013, I have hoped that my personal values and those of the APC will continue to align until I choose to retire from politics.”

    However, at a press conference held in Kaduna yesterday, the SDP’s Assistant National Secretary, Northwest Zone, Idris Inuwa, emphasised that El-Rufai’s entry into the party remained a rumor as he was yet to follow due process.

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    “It has come to our notice that certain individuals, including Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, are being rumored to have joined the SDP. However, neither the Chairman of the Kaduna North Local Government Chapter in Kaduna State, nor the leadership of Unguwar Sarki ward, has any record of these memberships,” Inuwa said.

    Inuwa, therefore, advised El-Rufai and his cohorts to follow proper procedures if they wish to officially become members of the party.

    “We advise him and any other interested individuals to follow the proper procedures if they wish to officially become members of the party,” he said.

    Inuwa also rejected the purported dissolution of the Kaduna State Working Committee of the SDP, stating that it is unconstitutional and an affront to the principles of due process and internal democracy.

    “The Kaduna State Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) categorically rejects the purported dissolution of the State Working Committee as contained in a letter from the National Secretariat dated 25 February, 2025,” Inuwa said.

    Inuwa emphasised that the Kaduna State Executive Committee is a product of a duly conducted State Congress and holds a four-year mandate that remains valid and binding.

  • Ex-ALGON secretary refutes El-Rufai’s claim on local council funds

    Ex-ALGON secretary refutes El-Rufai’s claim on local council funds

    Former Secretary of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Kaduna State chapter, Alhaji Kabiru Jarimi, has dismissed claims by ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai that his administration did not interfere with local council funds during his tenure.

    Jarimi, who served under El-Rufai’s government, described the former governor’s statement as misleading. 

    According to him, deductions were routinely made from the allocations meant for local councils under various pretexts.

    Speaking in an interview with journalists over the weekend, Jarimi, who is also a former Chairman of Kaduna South Local Government, alleged that the interference negatively impacted council finances and autonomy.

    His comments challenge El-Rufai’s stance on fiscal transparency at the local government level, reigniting debates on how funds were managed during the previous administration.

    “I was shocked by El Rufai’s comment because local government funds were deducted without our approval. Most of the deductions targeted Southern Kaduna LGAs.

    “We never got our full allocations under El-Rufai. His government kept introducing policies to deduct funds unnecessarily. I even considered resigning. At times, we had no funds for overhead costs after paying salaries,” he recalled.

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    Jarimi who said that El-Rufai justified the deductions as necessary to settle workers’ salaries, further said that the state government also employed various means to withdraw additional funds.

    The former Council Chairman cited the creation of Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority and Kafanchan Municipal Authority as conduits for short changing local governments.

    “Salaries were shared 60-40 between the capital territories and LGs around them. In Kaduna South, deductions were made in the name of sanitation, forcing us to remit funds to the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority (KCTA) every month,” he stated.

    The former Chairman further alleged that the funds of local governments outside the capital territories were also deducted without explanation, citing deductions for security and ‘riot damage’

    “We contributed to a security fund, yet no former LGA chairman can account for how it was used. The same applies to the riot damage fund; no LGA benefited from it. I challenge the former Governor to explain where the money went,” he demanded.

    Jarimi commended Governor Uba Sani for reversing many of El-Rufai’s policies, especially the abolition of the Capital, Metropolitan and Municipal Authorities, as well as the security and riot damage funds.

    According to the former local government chairman, the Governor Uba Sani administration now gives a percentage of its Internally Generated Revenue to local governments.

  • Ex-Kaduna commissioners debunk alleged diversion of N1.37b under El-Rufai

    Ex-Kaduna commissioners debunk alleged diversion of N1.37b under El-Rufai

    Commissioners who served under former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai between 2015 and 2023 have reacted to the recent order of the Federal High Court in the state.

    On February 28, Justice H. Buhari of the Federal High Court had ordered the interim forfeiture of the N1.37 billion allegedly diverted into a private account while ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    The N1.3 billion was allegedly paid into the account of an unregistered company over the Kaduna Light Rail Project.

    In their reaction, the former commissioners insisted that there was no basis for any forfeiture proceedings or court order.

    They described the court order as a sheer oppression and an abuse of power to confiscate private assets and discourage foreign direct investments.

    In a statement, the former commissioners jointly challenged those they called purveyors of lies and falsehood to come forward with genuine documents to contradict any of the foregoing facts.

    The statement reads: “First, we wish to state that the Kaduna Light Rail Project came about as part of the infrastructural revolution of the Mallam Nasir El-Rufai administration to turn Kaduna into a modern and developed state. The project was conceived as a landmark legacy project by the State Executive Council in October 2015, to be funded with part of the just secured World Bank Performance for Results loan of about $350 million.

    “Given the magnitude of the project, which was estimated to cost between US$600-700 million, we needed foreign collaboration and funding. We, therefore, started with adverts in reputable local and international publications, including The Economist magazine. A copy of the advertisement for Expression of Interest, dated November 2015 in the national dailies is attached as Annex 1.

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    “In the end, an Indian company, known as Skipper, secured the award of the project following the competitive tender process. They were to be responsible for securing a loan of about 85 per cent of the project cost from the Indian Export Import Bank, whilst Kaduna State government was to pay 15 per cent as equity. The contract term was consequently changed from an EPC to a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer so that Skipper would be responsible for ensuring the efficient operations of the light rail system and the repayment of the loan.”

    The statement admitted that the former government paid N890 million to Skipper and GTA as the cost of feasibility study for the light rail project.

    It added that the project could not continue due to the non-approval of a Sovereign Guarantee by the Federal Government.

    “However, the then Minister of Finance pushed back, saying the nation’s foreign debt burden was becoming too high and that she would be accused of being partial towards Kaduna State if they gave the Sovereign Guarantee.

    “So, because of this, we could not continue with the project. Meanwhile, during the intervening period, we had increased our down payment to N12 billion as part of Kaduna State’s 15 per cent equity contribution.

    “When it became obvious that the Sovereign Guarantee would not be we granted, we recalled the money from Sterling Bank. The bank refunded all the funds except for the cost of the feasibility study (N890 million as stated in Paragraph 4 above) that had been paid which remains the property of the Kaduna State Government.

    “Anytime anyone wants to embark on the project, he will just pick up the report and start the project. There were other costs that had been incurred by Skipper and GTA, which had to do with geo-mapping of corridors, land acquisition, domestic and international travel and other relevant expenses; for which an understanding was reached for a setoff against interest received on the deposit.

    “As a responsible and transparent administration, we engaged the services of a forensic audit firm to ensure that the refunds due to Kaduna State Government were received “.

    “It would be recalled that when some senior officials of the immediate past Kaduna State Executive Council were arrested by the ICPC, the allegation was that the N13 billion for the light rail project was missing.

    “But, when evidence of the refund that was made to the Kaduna State government and the report of the forensic audit that was conducted by the El-Rufai administration were made available to the ICPC, the narrative changed! Surprisingly, ICPC became hostile and decided to go after Sterling Bank and forced the bank to deposit ₦1.3 billion into an Escrow Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), pending litigation to determine if any fraud or crime had been committed.

    “Please, note that the ₦1.3 billion which Sterling Bank was forced to pay into the Escrow Account is the addition of the N890 million Cost of the Feasibility Study and about N400 million interest that accrued on the deposit in the joint venture account.”

  • Hell Rufai

    Hell Rufai

    Nasir El-Rufai made it a date on television, and he thought he should let us know it was his first interview. It is what media theorists call pseudo-event. An act billed as more than it is really worth. It would have been less than a hype if he had clipped his lips since he left office as Kaduna State helmsman.

    But the voluble fellow has been talking, and he has not stopped. So, it is not new that he granted an interview. He just created a stage in order to ballyhoo. Very soon he will grant another interview. He likes to talk, he likes to hear his voice, he wants to be the tallest person in the building.

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    But what he said in the interview that struck this essayist were two. First, he tried to describe the president as an “area boy” while distinguishing from omoluabi in characterising the nation’s leader. How bitter could one get to reach down to such a nadir of thought and language! The other thing he said was that he was no longer a friend to his successor, Governor Uba Sani. He added NSA Nuhu Ribadu and he implied they are in cahoots to undermine him. Ribadu lashed back, but Governor Sani has always restrained himself, which is a classy way to respond to such a man.

    Now, who is he to speak of friendship? Ask Obj, who was once his friend. In the heydays of their warmth, he knelt to him. He was an obedient public servant, but the kneeling was not accidental. It was a calculated humility. He wanted to stoop to conquer. He eulogized Yar Adua, and knelt. He praised and kneeled for Atiku, kneeled for Buhari. For goodness’ sake, he kneeled for Asiwaju Tinubu. He has turned his back to these guys. So, who wants to be his friend. He thinks being his friend is a prize. Rather it is a price. No one wants to pay. He says he won’t go to PDP. He said the APC has left him. Who would not leave such a man who does not stick to a friend?

  • El-Rufai’s ‘area boy’ outburst

    El-Rufai’s ‘area boy’ outburst

    Nasir El-Rufai is an angry man. From the last interview he had on Arise News, it was obvious he had been bottling up his frustrations for over a year. Before his frustrations, he had been poohpoohed as a would minister after his exaggerated performance as a nominee ended up in a fiasco. With flowing babaringa and showy perorations, he came as though to conquer.

    Now that the post was a mythical tantalus hanging elusively on a tree, he is blaming everybody. He is fighting with the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the governor of Kaduna State, Comrade Uba Sani, the appointees of the president because he said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed incompetent people. Then he threw an insult on the president himself, implying that the president is an “Area Boy.”

    From the lips of a man who was minister? A man who was head of a major agency like the Bureau of Public Enterprises? A man who governed a major state in the country, that is Kaduna, for eight years?

    Speaking on the appointments, he said Nigerians should not blame Yorubas because Yorubas have omoluabis and area boys. And he implied that the president was not omoluabi. This is the sort of thing that can happen to a man who has lost his capacity for reasoned discourse. He had capsized intelligence. He fell flat before logic.

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    This is the man wants to divert attention from his shoddy handling of Kaduna resources as the state’s chief steward. Rather than say the truth, he fights his successor. He said Governor Uba Sani is no longer his friend. His successor has routinely ignored him, just as the EFCC and ICPC are looking into the allegations of over N400 billion unaccounted for. He said the money is not missing. But the projects are missing. Yet the money has been allocated and paid but not to government projects. So, how can he account for the discrepancies? How can he account for the roads, the agricultural projects, the power projects, etc? How can he say that he did well when he could not reconcile absence of projects with absence of money spent?

    Governor Sani had to do what he had to do when workers wanted to shut down the state because the state executive could not meet its financial obligations. He had to show them the books, and that is why the governor also called all stakeholders of the state to look at the books and see why he had to let them know the state of things.

    The man Nasir El-Rufai said he did not support the president during the campaigns. He speaks with such bare-faced braggadocio as though no one else but him was in the country during the campaigns. He is denying himself. We heard what we heard from him. We knew what we knew from him. He wanted a southerner but he wanted to be vice president. He was one of the few who went to Buhari to complain about the pick of Kashim Shettima. He forgets that everyone knew he wanted to be vice president to any of Tinubu’s opponents for the party primary.

    He did not support Tinubu during the campaigns but he went to court to challenge Buhari in the Supreme Court with other governors over the former president’s financial policies to strangulate the APC candidate?

    He says the president’s policy are good but the people he put in charge are in competent. Maybe he is the only competent person in the world. It is what psychologists call megalomania.

    Maybe he will change if the president makes him quiet with an appointment. Don’t bet on it, though.

  • JUST IN: El-Rufai to speak on ‘state of the nation’ at Arise TV

    JUST IN: El-Rufai to speak on ‘state of the nation’ at Arise TV

    Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accepted to be a guest on ARISE TV Prime Time live programme.

    The interview is scheduled for 8 pm on Monday.

    El-Rufai on ‘X’ said: “This is to inform everyone on my timeline that I have accepted an invitation to be a guest on ARISE TV Prime Time live programme scheduled for 8 pm.

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    “My media team has observed that this will be the first interview I am granting to any media organization since I left public office on 29th May 2023. Please tune in if interested.”

    Confirming the interview, Arise TV said: “Join us on #PrimeTime today at 8:00 pm for an exclusive conversation with Mallam Nasir- El-Rufai, Former Governor of Kaduna State.”

  • From governor to gadfly – What’s next for El-Rufai?

    From governor to gadfly – What’s next for El-Rufai?

    By Emameh Gabriel

    It is both ironic and tragic that Malam Nasir El-Rufai, a man whose political career has been marked by series of self-inflicted missteps, now finds solace in amplifying alarmists’ musings.

    The embattled former governor of Kaduna State, whose tenure left more scars than solutions in his eight years stint, seems to have taken up the role of a social media scavenger, clutching at every straw of discontent to soothe his frayed nerves. It is no surprise that he has latched onto one of Diala’s latest piece, rebranding it with a sensational title to stoke ethnic flames. But let us be clear: this is not a stitch in time saving nine; it is a desperate attempt to fan embers of discord in a nation already grappling with enough challenges.

    I am not speaking as an individual with a vested interest; while personal or collective interests may exist, my focus is squarely on the national interest and the unity of our great nation. It is, however, regrettable that this opinion being promoted by Malam, a man I also respect so much, comes from someone I hold in the highest regard, Dr. Uche Diala, a person I consider not merely a friend but a brother.

    Diala’s piece, while dressed in the garb of concern, is a thinly veiled exercise in fear-mongering and historical revisionism. To suggest that the Southwest and supporters of President Bola Tinubu are “playing with fire” is not only hyperbolic but also a deliberate distortion of the political realities of our time. Diala’s narrative, much like El-Rufai’s recent antics, oiled with nostalgia for a bygone era when political power was wielded like a cudgel, and regionalism was the currency of relevance. But Nigeria has moved beyond such simplistic binaries, and it is high time El-Rufai and his cheerleaders caught up.

    Please take note: El-Rufai does not represent the interests of the North, nor does he possess the authority to do so. He cannot implicate the entire northern region in his personal disputes with his successor, regardless of any grievances he may harbour.

    Now, let us address the elephant in the room: the North as the so-called “kingmaker.” This tired trope, regurgitated ad nauseam, is a relic of a past that no longer holds sway in Nigeria’s evolving political landscape. While the North remains a critical bloc, the idea that it alone holds the keys to the nation is a myth perpetuated by those who benefit from its propagation.

    Just this morning, I read an opinion by my elder brother, Prince Kasim Afegbua, with the title: “2027: The North and the Rest of Us”, in which he stressed the importance of equity, fairness, and collaboration among Nigeria’s geopolitical zones in the pursuit of the presidency. Drawing from his 28 years of political experience, Afegbua argued that no region can single-handedly produce a president without the support of others. He cites the example of former President Muhammadu Buhari, whose initial three presidential bids failed because he neglected to campaign in the South. It was only when Buhari built a coalition with the South that he succeeded in defeating an incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan. Afegbua expressed concern over whispers of northern plans to dominate the 2027 presidential race and disrupt the existing power rotation framework.

    People should know that Nigeria’s politics is no longer a zero-sum game of regional alliances but a complex interplay of ideas, performance, and inclusivity. President Tinubu’s administration, far from alienating any region, has consistently emphasised unity and equitable development. To suggest otherwise is to peddle a false narrative designed to sow division.

    Diala’s comparison of President Tinubu to President Jonathan is not only flawed but also disingenuous. Jonathan’s administration faltered not because of regional politics but because of its inability to deliver on its promises and its failure to unite a fractured nation. Tinubu, on the other hand, is a seasoned political strategist with a track record of building bridges across regions. To reduce his presidency to the whims of “tribal and geopolitical politics” is to underestimate the man and the moment. Tinubu’s leadership is not a one-man show, as Diala claims, but one working to steer Nigeria towards prosperity. The attempt to paint his supporters as “rambunctious” or “arrogant” is a cheap shot aimed at undermining their legitimate enthusiasm for a leader who has earned their trust.

    As for El-Rufai, his sudden concern for the APC’s fortunes in 2027 is laughable, given his own role in the party’s internal crises. This is a man who, not too long ago, urged the opposition to mobilise against his own party. Now, he positions himself as a guardian of the APC’s future? The irony is as thick as the smog over Abuja.

    El-Rufai’s political career has been a masterclass in contradictions, and his latest theatrics are no exception. Rather than offering constructive criticism, he has chosen to amplify divisive rhetoric, further exposing his own place in the current political equation.

    To both Diala and El-Rufai, I say this: Nigeria is not a chessboard for political gambits, and its people are not pawns to be manipulated. The challenges we face as a nation require unity, not division; solutions, not scaremongering. If you truly wish to contribute to Nigeria’s progress, focus on building bridges rather than burning them. The era of playing regional politics is over, and those who fail to adapt will be left behind.

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    In the words of Chinua Achebe, “When the rain falls on the leopard, it does not wash off its spots.” No amount of alarmist rhetoric can mask the fact that Nigeria is moving forward, with or without the likes of El-Rufai.

    The notion that any single region holds the key to political power is an outdated concept that fails to account for the dynamic and interconnected nature of modern Nigerian society. The Southwest, North, Southeast, and every other region are integral parts of a whole, and their collective strength lies in their unity and cooperation.

    President Tinubu’s administration has consistently emphasised the importance of inclusivity and equitable development. His policies and initiatives are designed to address the needs of all Nigerians, regardless of their regional or tribal affiliations.

    El-Rufai doesn’t speak for the North but for himself. His tenure as governor of Kaduna State was marked by countless controversies, some of which his successor, Uba Sani is working tirelessly to address and his recent actions suggest a continued preference for stirring the pot rather than offering constructive solutions. By amplifying Diala’s alarmist rhetoric, El-Rufai is contributing to the very divisions he claims to be concerned about. This is not the behaviour of a statesman but one seeking to remain relevant in a changing landscape.

    El-Rufai would do well to heed the lessons of history and recognise that the future of Nigeria lies in its unity and collective strength. The era of regional kingmakers and divisive politics is over. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.” Let us rise above the petty politics of division and work together to build a Nigeria that we can all be proud of. The fire we should be playing with is the fire of unity, determination, and hope for a better Nigeria.

    •Gabriel wrote from Abuja.

  • Is El-Rufai the North?

    Is El-Rufai the North?

    Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the self-styled accidental public servant, is at it again. Sounding off and drawing attention to himself, as usual. What ails El-Rufai? What is biting him really? El-Rufai is good at blabbing, flapping and flailing, all at the same time. He seems to have lost bearings after missing out on being made a minister in the present administration.

    Both in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where he once held sway as minister, and Kaduna, his home state, where he was a two-term governor from 2015 – 2023, El-Rufai has turned himself into a laughing stock of sorts, the way he is carrying on. Under the guise of speaking ‘truth to power’, that is what his likes always say after their quibbling, he sees nothing good in what President Bola Tinubu, and Governor Uba Sani, his (El-Rufai’s) successor, are doing.

    Hardly a day passes without El-Rufai taking potshots at both men. He is hyperactive in the traditional and social media, as he has joined forces with other disgruntled politicians to pick, especially on the President. His hitherto political enemies are now his friends. Those people were not only his political foes, they were also not economically and socially compatible. El-Rufai now finds comfort in their bosom. Not to worry, at the right time, they will be put asunder by what brought them together.

    The time is drawing close. And El-Rufai is stepping up his campaign of calumny against Tinubu, pretending to be speaking as a friend. With a friend like him, the President does not need an enemy. His latest outburst was not altruistic. It was, as usual, self-serving. He assumed to be the voice of the North as he thundered over the President’s chances in the 2027 election. The North, he claimed, would ditch the President as the region did to Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 because of “his (Jonathan’s) attitude and that of people around him to the zone”.

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    In other words, he was saying that for Tinubu to get a second term, he must surround himself with more northerners, give them what is commonly referred to as ‘fat and juicy’ appointments and open up the treasury for them, if need be, so as to appease this northern deity created by him, which cannot be defied. The train has since left El-Rufai behind. If he did not know, he should know now. He is no longer a factor in the nation’s politics. These days, he is just being tolerated, all because of what he was in the past.

    El-Rufai no longer has a place in the political future of this country. So, to threaten the President with the loss of the North’s vote in 2027 is mere talk. Grammarians call it gibberish. I will not do that because El-Rufai, as Mark Antony referred to those who killed Julius Caesar, the major character in William Shakespeare’s tragic play of the same title, is an ‘honourable man’. The North knows its own and its own know the North. El-Rufai cannot now pretend to be what he is not to the region that produced great men like Sardauna Ahmadu Bello and Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

    When those men spoke, the North listened. Who will listen to El-Rufai? Come to think of it, how many soldiers does he have to warrant him to make such a sweeping statement for the North. Lest he forgets, he is no longer a governor nor a minister with favours to dispense. People are no longer at his beck and call. He should stop living in the past. It is not of his making that a Southerner is the President today. It will also not be of his making that a Southerner will remain President in 2027.

    The Southern Presidency is an idea whose time did not just come today. It came years ago and El-Rufai was wise enough to join the bandwagon then. All the best, if he wants to jump ship now. I concede that he played a leading role in rallying the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors from the North to support the project. That was then when he, as governor, was on the ground in Kaduna. It is because he is no longer on the ground that he seems not to know the things that the President is doing for the state.

    El-Rufai is seeking a return to political reckoning with his recent activities. He speaks glowingly of APC at public forums, but deep down he knows that he is insincere. His statement titled: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 1, released on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday was a dead giveaway of his intentions about Tinubu and their party. Is he still in APC? Time will tell. Playing with words, he wrote:

    “I have read and heard the arrogant posturing and braggadocio by some people who I refer to as political rabble-rousers… May I remind some persons that, more than the performance or lack thereof, of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, it was his attitude, and that of people around him, towards the North that ultimately brought him down…” Can you hear that? El-Rufai’s plan to set the North against Tinubu is dead on arrival.

    He cannot incite the North and its people against Tinubu at a time that the President is doing all he can for the region. May we remind El-Rufai that he is not the Oracle of the North that speaks and the people will follow. He can only speak for himself and not the region which has had it good under the Tinubu Presidency. God sparing our lives, 2027 is just two years away. It is Tinubu’s achievements and not the bile spewed by a disgruntled politician that will determine his return to office.

    Like every other eligible voter, El-Rufai has only one vote. He should cast it for whoever he likes. I bet him, he will be shocked by the outcome of the 2027 Presidential Poll, notwithstanding his statement inciting the North against Tinubu ahead of the election. The second part cannot be more incendiary than the first. The public awaits that installment.

  • How Tinubu saved Atiku from OBJ, El-Rufai

    How Tinubu saved Atiku from OBJ, El-Rufai

    Somehow, the fiction has gone around that Nasir El-Rufai backed Uba Sani to be governor. El-Rufai has allowed this untruth to fester for a number of reasons.

    One, he wants them to call Governor Sani a traitor, so people who know El-Rufai’s biography of about-face would not focus on him, El-Rufai. Two, he wants to divert attention from the raft of questions over his handling of Kaduna State finances while he was governor. Three, he wants to make N150 billion bigger than N428 billion. It is his mathematics of duplicity.

    That is his foul strategy. As a man who likes attention more than a god, he started this when he sat beside a man, Atiku, he first betrayed in public life. And, for irony, he was talking about loyalty. But on that panel, he emitted disloyalty. That is because he was too angry to know he was contradicting himself. It is the Shakespeare quote in his play Tempest: “I am vexed; bear with my weakness.”

    To start with, Governor Uba Sani never enjoyed El-Rufai’s support to be governor. He won the primary in spite of him, just as President Tinubu won the APC primary in spite of Muhammadu Buhari. But this did not force Governor Sani into fury. As Churchill wrote, “in war, resolution; in victory, magnanimity.” That explained why he has never thrown any invective against his predecessor since he became governor. Last week, he described his relationship with El-Rufai as “cordial.” It turned out to be a bullet rather than an oil of gladness to the mallam. He fought back, rather than exchange the courtesy. For him any act of civility is dubious. Fight is better than nice.

    It was then he threw a charge that the Tinubu government has given Kaduna N150 billion, and hence his successor has been in sync with the president.

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    Governor Sani has not confirmed the charge. My investigation shows the mallam does not have the facts. But Governor Sani has decided to give El-Rufai an arm rather than an ammunition.

     But El-Rufai loves turbulence more than tranquility. He is not the sort who loves brotherly love. He must be very angry he has heard nothing from his successor. Maybe Governor Sani would respond tomorrow. I don’t know. But up to the time of writing, he has chosen the path of Michelle Obama. “When they go low, we go high.” El-Rufai does not know much about height.

    The charge of N150 billion is a clever-by-half ploy to divert attention from the over N400 billion , comprising projects he has not accounted for. For the sake of argument, if the state received N150 billion from the Tinubu government, should El-Rufai not be happy.

     They are trying to clean up after his mess, yet he is angry. He is angry that Kaduna people are going to get a relief? Is it not strange that someone wants to save your people and you are up in arms? Is he so insensitive to the people? Is it not the same governor that is uniting the state after El-Rufai drove a wedge between north and south of the state, between Muslims and Christians, between rich and poor? Is he angry because he has worked to beat down prices? Is he angry at the peace dividends in the state? Is he boiling because Birnin Gwari is now calm?

     What he is doing is the great betrayal: of his own people. Is he not the one betraying is successor by his claptrap tongue?

    But he is now in the same boat with Atiku, and pretending he is still in the APC. That is pharisaic.  It is an act of cowardice not to state where he is. With his tongue he draws himself to APC but we can decode his own heart from his lips. Maybe the nation’s memory is short about El-Rufai’s past.

     The social media is circulating a quote on how the Owu chief or OBJ characterized the former Kaduna State governor in his memoirs.

     But let me show how even the same Atiku was saved by then Governor Bola Tinubu from Obj’s clutches who was using El-Rufai as his point man.

     Atiku was vice president and was at war with President Obasanjo, who took him to court to rid him of his immunity. Obj wanted to nail him for abandoning the PDP and moving over to the Action Congress.

     Tinubu’s AC had penciled him down to run for president against Obasanjo’s pick, the late Umar Yar Adua.

    With Tinubu’s backing, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) defended Atiku showing that OBJ had no reason to undermine his immunity as vice president as guaranteed by the constitution. Those were the days that everyone accused OBJ of “overheating the polity.”

    The Supreme Court ruled in Atiku’s favour. Miffed, Obj set up an administrative panel on Atiku, and who were those on the panel? Attorney general Bayo Ojo and, you guessed right, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who was then the FCT minister. For Obidients’ information, our own Oby Ezekwesili was a member.

     The panel recommended the banning of Atiku from public office for six years. But they made a mistake in the panel report. They nailed OBJ’s old friend turned adversary, Oyewole Fasawe, for financial impropriety, after deploying its EFCC to arrest him.

    With Tinubu’s backing again, Chief Olanipekun took up the gauntlet and shredded the case against Fasawe as a way of discrediting the whole administrative panel’s report. The court upheld Olanipekun’s brilliance and threw away the case against Fasawe and the whole recommendation of the report, including the six-year ban on Atiku. It was a blow to OBJ. Tinubu saved Atiku and made it possible for him to run for president. Or else, the Adamawa chieftain would have sulked in limbo – as he is now – until the election cycle of 2015. So, we can see how much ingratitude flows in Atiku’s blood.

    I recall in the period, during a book launch in Lagos, Atiku described Tinubu as more than a friend but a brother. And on the podium, Tinubu nodded. It was the same time, after securing the AC ticket, that he picked Ben Obi as his running mate to defy the man who saved him. Some people are not worthy of their salvation. Of course, that ticket was an electoral disaster. The rest, as they say, is history.

    But at this time, El-Rufai was still OBJ’s boy, though it was Atiku, who nominated him to high office and the graces of the then President Obasanjo. For a man like El-Rufai, he likes the life of the moment. When Atiku was his man, he could have groveled before him and drooled with the Shakespearean phrase: “how fine my master is.” He would say the same about OBJ later. I wonder if he is not saying the same about Atiku today. Atiku could not accuse him because his own record of pirouettes are as sordid as the former Kaduna State governor. He probably wants Governor Sani to say same to him and he is upset the governor is not bowing. He wanted what historian Timothy Snyder calls “anticipatory obedience.”

    Even the issue of the over N400 billion he has not accounted for was unveiled because, according to the governor and an investigation I conducted, the labour union wanted to shut down the state with industrial action. He had to show them the books, and explained the lack of finesse of his predecessor with the state’s resources. The labour leaders said so to this writer and was part of an over 5000-word expose in this newspaper last year. Governor Sani’s reluctance to cry out initially was part of his generosity to his friend and predecessor. But Mallam always has other ideas. Loyalty and conciliation are not part of them.