By our reporter
Another shot was fired at immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai over his interview on Arise TV last Monday night,as the Presidency slammed him for, among others, leveling certain accusations against President Bola Tinubu and his administration.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who was also accused by El-Rufai at the interview of allegedly using his office to politically immobilize potential Northern presidential aspirants in a bid to clear the coast for himself in 2031, had earlier today responded, saying he did not want to join issues with El-Rufai as he (Ribadu) had never discussed his political future with anyone.
Specifically, El-Rufai had thumbed down Tinubu’s performance as being below general expectations, despite the pre-election hype, pointing out that the President filled his cabinet with his ‘yes men’ boys rather than proven performers.
The former governor also spoke on the issue of his not being part of Tinubu’s cabinet,despite reportedly being begged by Tinubu who even submitted his name to the National Assembly for screening.
El-Rufai had said: “Forget what you read. The National Assembly did not reject me. President Bola Tinubu changed his mind about working with me.
“The security thing was a good excuse they used. Since then has anyone released that report telling us the security issue?
“I had the opportunity to serve my country. The person that gave me, took it back and that is not a problem.”
Apparently riled, the Presidency on Tuesday, February 25, took El-Rufai on, saying he was crying like a baby over spilled milk because he was not made a Minister.
Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, rebuked the former governor over such attitude.
Speaking on Channels TV’s ‘Sunrise Daily’, Onanuga said El-Rufai’s reaction is natural after being rejected as a Minister.
His words: “As a person, I think I will pity the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. He feels hurt that he was not made a Minister.
“I think it is time for him to move on. He can’t continue to behave like a child, as if somebody stole his bread and he is crying.
“It’s natural for him to feel hurt about being excluded, and the President acknowledged in his birthday message that Nasir helped a lot in installing Tinubu. If he’s not there, it doesn’t mean he should bring down the roof.
“The President has no animosity against Nasir. He naturally feels hurt that he has been excluded, so he goes about campaigning against the President and would not let go.
“He should forget about not being made a Minister. He has been in public service since 1999; it’s time for him to move on.”
There have been reports that El-Rufai is part of a group of political heavyweights plotting the ousting of President Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
The group is believed to contain many opposition leaders such as the 2023 presidential flag bearer of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar. It is unknown to what extent his counterpart in Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, is in on the scheme; however, he recently publicly rejected any alliance that is not in the interest of ordinary Nigerians,but just merely for power grab.
Recall that on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, El-Rufai,in a series of posts on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle had warned Tinubu’s administration that the President could be given the same ouster treatment the North handed President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, insisting that Tinubu’s popularity in the region had seriously waned in just about two years after the 2023 polls which brought him to power.
“Less than two years into the tenure, we are witnesses to how the relationship between the North and President Bola Tinubu or rather his administration is quickly deteriorating, driven by the words and conduct of, unfortunately, many from the President’s geopolitical zone and tribe. Truth be told.
“I have read and heard the arrogant posturing and braggadocio by some people whom I refer to as political rabble-rousers, but I get more worried each day as it keeps looking more and more like a movie we had seen before.
“May I remind some persons that, more than the performance or lack thereof of the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration, it was his attitude, and that of people around him, towards the North that ultimately brought him down and, by extension, the PDP that had boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 60 years.”
El-Rufai titled his X posts ‘2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 1’.
