El-Rufai: I backed Tinubu politically, not as friend

By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has clarified that his support for President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 election was strictly political and not based on personal friendship. He also dismissed concerns that opposition governors defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would influence the outcome of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking on Trust TV’s 30 Minutes, El-Rufai said, “There is an assumption that I was ever Tinubu’s friend. I was not. We never got along… We never had a personal relationship.”

He explained that his backing of Tinubu during the party primaries and general election was guided by party principles rather than personal loyalty. “For me, Tinubu was initially an aspirant of the party. It wasn’t about Tinubu; it was about principle,” he said.

El-Rufai noted that supporting a southern candidate after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure aligned with an understanding within the APC. “It is a principle of mine that I fight for the candidate of my party in every election to win, whether I like the candidate or not,” he added.

Despite supporting Tinubu’s candidacy, El-Rufai said he would have struggled to collaborate with the current administration due to philosophical differences. “Even if that had gone through, I would have left the government long ago, because the philosophy of this government is contrary to everything that I have been taught to stand for public good,” he stated.

On the potential impact of governors defecting to the APC, El-Rufai was dismissive, noting his experience in Kaduna during the 2023 election. “As the governor of Kaduna State, Tinubu lost. He didn’t win Kaduna. We lost three Senate seats. The governor has only one vote,” he said, framing the next election as a contest “between the people and the gang of thieves.”

El-Rufai also voiced strong support for mandatory, real-time electronic transmission of election results, accusing some lawmakers of undermining measures designed to protect electoral integrity. “Rigging doesn’t take place in the polling unit; it is in the coalition centres,” he said, adding that restoring the House of Representatives’ provisions would enhance election credibility.

Regarding the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as an opposition platform, El-Rufai acknowledged that the party is still building its visibility compared to the APC coalition formed in 2014. “Yes, there is that concern. APC was firing on all cylinders the moment it was formed. But this party is not a coalition of several parties; it’s a coalition of individuals, so it is taking time to settle,” he said.

He highlighted ongoing grassroots mobilisation at ward and polling-unit levels, promising internal democracy within the party. “Everyone will be given the opportunity to contest, and whoever wins will be supported by all,” he said.

On his recent absence from public view, El-Rufai explained, “I usually take at least six weeks holiday every year. I travelled abroad at the end of November but was later hospitalised after contracting a mix of bacterial, viral, and malarial infections. I’m fine now and very soon I’ll be on my way to Nigeria.”

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