Tinubu Abandoning El-Rufai Serves Him Well, He Abandoned Us With Amaechi too
Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has taken a swipe at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over his current political troubles with President Bola Tinubu.
Ndume suggested that El-Rufai’s woes are a result of his decision to abandon former Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, during the APC presidential primaries.
Speaking on Arise News on Tuesday, Ndume, who was the Director-General of the Rotimi Amaechi Presidential Campaign, expressed his discontent with the state of governance under Tinubu’s administration. He warned that if the President fails to address the country’s challenges, he may be forced to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ndume stated, “If I decide to leave the APC, I will not hide it. I still believe President Tinubu can fix things. Failure to fix those things may cause me to leave the APC.”
He criticized the current administration, saying that unresolved national issues could lead to his exit from the party.
The Senator also reflected on the fallout between El-Rufai and Tinubu, recalling how El-Rufai had initially pledged his support for Amaechi during the APC presidential primaries, only to switch camps and back Tinubu.
“El-Rufai was supposed to be on our side but somehow, he moved over. I think these are part of the things that are annoying or frustrating him,” Ndume said.
Ndume added that El-Rufai’s decision to support Tinubu ultimately led to his current situation, saying, “He was on our side. Amaechi’s side. Before Tinubu was nominated, he made up his mind to support Tinubu, and Tinubu, as he rightly said, said that he should not leave and that he should come on board, join the government.”
The Senator also recalled how he and others had given El-Rufai a smooth pass during his ministerial screening, only for his nomination to be rejected.
“But sometimes, I’ll say, ‘okay o, you did that to us, it’s payback to yourself’,” Ndume said.
El-Rufai, who is now a member of the opposition Social Democratic Party, has become a vocal critic of Tinubu after being denied a place in his cabinet. Ndume’s comments come after he alleged in June that presidential aides were deceiving Tinubu on national issues and damaging his image. He also claimed that the government had been hijacked by “kleptocrats” and “kakistocrats”.
