In a fresh twist to the silent row between the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress,
In a fresh twist to the silent row between the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Kaduna governor has said Tinubu is not his man, ThePunch is reporting.
This he said while speaking at a webinar in commemoration of the 63rd birthday of the Minister of Interior and former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, on Saturday, El-Rufai. Whiel he noted that Aregbesola remained his man any day, he said that Tinubu was not his man. This, he said, was due to the differences between him and the former Lagos governor.
El-Rufai’s statement came as a subtle confirmation of the disagreement between him and Tinubu. Both of them are stalwarts of the ruling party and are rumoured to have ambitions to contest the presidency in the 2023 elections.
Tinubu has never made any public statement about their seemingly frosty relationship and el-Rufai had also been conservative on the issue except for very few occasions.
Already, there had been mounting tension over which of the six zones would produce the next president in the 2023 elections. Also in February, the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, while responding to fears that the APC might collapse when the President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office in 2023, said the much speculated presidential ambitions of El-Rufai and Tinubu could not break the APC, stating that it would rather strengthen the party.
Recall that at an event organised by the Bridge Club tagged, “An evening with His Excellency Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, in May 2016, the Kaduna governor was believed to be referring to Tinubu when he explained how to end godfatherism in Lagos. Tinubu is widely known to be the godfather of Lagos politics since he left office as governor in 2007.
During the question and answer session, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and three-time commissioner in Lagos State, Dr Muiz Banire, asked El-Rufai how godfathership could be dealt with given how it had served as one of the drawbacks for professionals and businessmen who might want to go into politics. Responding, El-Rufai said he defeated and retired four political godfathers in Kaduna State, saying the feat could be replicated anywhere, including Lagos State. He stated that the key was to go back to the people directly, noting however that it was a step that required time and hard work. “The key is to go to the people,” he added.
