El-Rufai: Our Support for Tinubu Was Not for Personal Gains

Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, clarifies that his support for President Tinubu was based on principles and not for personal benefits or political appointments.

On Monday, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai stated that his backing of President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 election was not motivated by any desire for personal gain.

El-Rufai played a crucial role among the Northern governors in the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), who asserted before the party’s primary that a Southerner should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu ultimately became the party’s candidate and successfully won the election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

El-Rufai appears to have distanced himself from Tinubu’s camp and has recently criticized both the Tinubu administration and the APC. Consequently, there has been a continuous exchange of words on X between the former Kaduna governor and some presidential aides.

On Sunday, a user on X with the handle @realYusufTukur claimed that Tinubu and his allies were eager to gain El-Rufai’s support before the election and praised him highly but later accused El-Rufai of not supporting the president.

“When they were eagerly seeking El-Rufai’s support, #officialABAT and his associates were all over the place praising Malam. However, true to their tendency for ingratitude, they’ve now reversed their stance and claim that Malam never supported PBAT. Yet these testimonials tell a different story,” Tukur’s post stated.

El-Rufai responded to the tweet through his X account, stating that he had no personal expectations from his political actions and noted that the unfolding events were merely a reflection of human nature.

He wrote, “Our actions were driven by devotion to God, country, and party without expecting anything in return. What is happening now is simply another life experience and a facet of human nature. We have moved on; however, their conscience may prevent them from sleeping peacefully. Thank you regardless.”