Former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, says the relationship between President Bola Tinubu and the north has deteriorated less than two years into his administration, warning that he may be given the Goodluck Jonathan treatment ahead of the 2027 elections.
El-Rufai made the statement in a post on his verified X handle yesterday, titled, “2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 1.”
El-Rufai had been attacking the ruling APC and the policies of the Tinubu government, even as political gladiators across party lines continued to mull the idea of floating a coalition capable of defeating APC.
In the post on X, El-Rufai stated, “It is actually premature to be talking about 2027 elections less than two years into our first tenure, but what is happening in the political arena is forcing me to speak to it, for as they say, ‘a stitch in time saves nine’.
“As an APC member, I naturally would want my party to win re-election in 2027. However, as a realist, I have my concerns.”
El-Rufai recalled that during the 2019 party primaries, he saw the way APC handled the primaries, and wrote that if the party was not careful, it could go the way of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which lost power after 16 years.
He said he predicted then that if APC did not return to its promised progressive path and ideology, but stayed obsessed with just winning elections at all cost, just like PDP, the ruling party could lose power at the federal level by 2031.
El-Rufai said, “When I wrote that, we were not faced with the current situation we are faced with. Indeed, I never imagined that we would be in the current situation any time soon, surely not under President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Note, I am not talking about the present economic situation and the likes. I am talking about the current and increasing ‘ghaghagha’ in our party and among APC members and support
