Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that he would openly criticize the All Progressives Congress (APC) even if he were part of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. El-Rufai made this statement on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday morning in response to a comment by Bwala Daniel, a presidential aide, who accused him of hypocrisy.
Speaking at a national conference in Abuja on Monday, January 27, El-Rufai distanced himself from the APC, stating that the party had become a “one-man show.”
“You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders.
This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he said, in what appeared to be a direct attack on the ruling party’s leadership.
Reacting to El-Rufai’s remarks, Bwala questioned whether the former governor would have voiced such strong opinions if he had been given a ministerial position.
“My senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position?” Bwala asked.
“It is a government you helped form, but now you want to unseat. Haba, Mallam.”
In his response, El-Rufai dismissed Bwala’s claims, insisting that he was never interested in serving in Tinubu’s government.
“I was a cabinet minister 22 years ago and made it clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his government,” he wrote.
He further criticized those attacking him for his comments, calling them “latter-day converts” to the Tinubu administration.
“The pathetic manner all of you make an issue of something I never wanted in the first place reflects your level of moral flexibility,” El-Rufai added.
He maintained that if he had been part of the Tinubu government, he would have spoken out against the “tragedy” within the APC, first privately and then publicly if no corrective measures were taken. Tinubu nominated El-Rufai as a minister in August 2023, but his nomination was rejected by the Senate. Since then, the former governor has remained distant from APC chieftains, rarely seen at party gatherings or at Aso Rock, where Tinubu operates.
