The former Governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the public belief that he was politically aligned with President Bola Tinubu.
Bellnews reports that El-Rufai, while speaking during an appearance on Arise News Television’s PrimeTime show on Monday, revealed details about his strained relationship with Tinubu and his deep regrets about supporting him to power in the 2023 elections.
El-Rufai stated that the Northern Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) agreed to zone power to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, ultimately paving the way for Tinubu’s emergence.
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) asserted that despite concerns about Tinubu’s candidacy at the time, the APC governors examined his record as Lagos State governor and believed he could replicate that performance at the national level.
He said, “For us, as Northern APC governors, we felt that eight years after Buhari, power should go to the South. The second question was who would win owing to the party. Bola Ahmed Tinubu became a beneficiary of that.
“I was never close to Bola Tinubu. I was a Buhari Boy; he (Tinubu) had his boys. I was a Buharist. My job was delivering Kaduna for Tinubu when he won the party.
“There were questions about him, and it worried me. We checked how he governed Lagos, and it was an inclusive government; he did a decent job in Lagos. Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. So we said if he can do half of that in Nigeria, then it’s good.”
El-Rufai admitted he had high expectations of Tinubu’s ability to appoint a competent cabinet but his administration turned out to be a disaster and he is thankful that God saved him from the embarrassment.
The immediate-past Governor reiterated that Tinubu publicly begged him to be part of his government but he rejected to join the administration.
He added, “The one thing I was almost confident Tinubu would do was to pick a sound cabinet. There is no quality.
“I think God saved me from the embarrassment of having to be part of this disaster. Tinubu begged me publicly to serve in his government, the videos are there. How can they say he begged me to change my plans? I thank God because I don’t have to explain to Nigerians why there’s no light, and the killings.”