THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, accusing him of lashing out at the party due to personal grievances following his failure to secure a ministerial position in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
El-Rufai, in an interview with BBC Hausa at the weekend, claimed that he and his allies had hoped that President Bola Tinubu would replicate his achievements in Lagos at the national level but failed woefully.
El-Rufai explained that despite concerns about Tinubu’s alleged certificate forgery from Chicago State University during the 2023 presidential election, they backed him, believing he could transform Nigeria as he did Lagos State.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well, because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges,” El-Rufai told BBC Hausa in an interview on Saturday.
“We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”
He then called on opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to unite under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to salvage the country.
“What I want and pray for is for all opposition leaders—Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola—to join the SDP,” he added.
However, APC, through its spokesperson, Felix Morka, on Monday dismissed El-Rufai’s claims as an emotional reaction to his failed ministerial bid, saying that El-Rufai’s criticism was more about his bruised ego than genuine ideological differences with the party.
APC stated, “Today, El-Rufai stands diminished as the epitome of a self-interested politician, blinded by ego, driven by untamed emotion, and brimming with a vengeful desire to ‘collapse the system’.
“In his BBC interview under reference, El-Rufai supplied the real reason for his soreness, stating that he was disappointed by the way he was treated by President Bola Tinubu and his administration, in ostensible reference to his failed ministerial bid. His claim that he exited because the Party had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology is a smokescreen to weaponise personal grievance garbed as principled dissent.
“El-Rufai appears traumatised by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform on which he rode to political prominence.”
The APC also condemned El-Rufai’s call for opposition figures to rally under the SDP, describing it as a plea for others to drink from a “chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness, and delusion of grandeur.”
The party accused El-Rufai of underestimating Nigerians, who, according to the APC, are well aware of his motivations.
“Nigerians are far more savvy than El-Rufai thinks, and they know that he is driven by raw self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country,” APC added.
“Our great party is unfazed by El-Rufai’s grudge-laden tirade. We continue to welcome millions of new members across the country, who are joining to identify with the Party’s lofty values and support President Tinubu’s bold and transformative policies now birthing sustainable growth and prosperity for our country.”
In response to El-Rufai’s claim that President Tinubu has failed, APC disagreed, labelling the accusation as “outrageous as it is bogus” and a gross distortion of the reality on the ground.
The party stated that across all sectors, Nigerians are witnessing tangible progress in the delivery of the president’s campaign promises, noting that “Indisputably, Nigeria is better off today than when he took office.”