El-Rufai Dismisses Claims of Rift With Tinubu, Says Relationship Was Never Personal

Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State and onetime Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has played down reports suggesting a personal rift with President Bola Tinubu, insisting that no such personal bond ever existed between them.

During an appearance on Trust TV on Monday, El-Rufai clarified that his backing of Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election was rooted in party strategy and political calculations rather than any form of friendship.

According to him, his relationship with Tinubu was never personal, contrasting it with the close ties he once shared with late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

El-Rufai further noted that his role in Tinubu’s rise to the presidency came after internal consultations within the All Progressives Congress and was shaped by wider political interests ahead of the polls.

“I was approached by certain Islamic stakeholders from the southwest to support the emergence of a southwest Muslim presidential candidate. That is how the discussions started,” El-Rufai stated.

He added that the zoning understanding within the APC after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure made a southern presidency inevitable.

“As governor of Kaduna and one of the founders of APC, I knew there was an understanding that after eight years of Buhari, power would return to the south. It wasn’t about Tinubu; he was merely an accidental beneficiary,” he said.

El-Rufai noted that once Tinubu secured the party’s ticket, he committed himself to the campaign in line with his personal principles.

El-Rufai said his support for the ruling party’s candidate was guided by principle rather than personal preference, stressing that he considers it a duty to work for whoever emerges as the flagbearer of his party.

He explained that backing Tinubu’s presidential bid in 2023 followed that long-held belief, adding that once Tinubu became the party’s candidate, he committed himself fully to ensuring electoral victory.

However, the former governor noted that deep differences became evident after the election, particularly in their views on governance, public accountability, and service to the public.

He maintained that there was no personal fallout, but rather an inability to align on core values, insisting that public office should be used to serve citizens and deliver results, not for self-enrichment or the promotion of loyalists.

El-Rufai further argued that the governing style of the current administration runs counter to his personal convictions, describing the differences as irreconcilable.

According to him, those same principles informed his decision to decline a ministerial position offered by President Tinubu.