Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has publicly clarified the reasons for his reported fallout with President Bola Tinubu, stating that the disagreement was philosophical and not personal, and revealing they were never close friends.
Speaking in an interview with Trust TV, El-Rufai set the record straight on their relationship: “I was never Tinubu’s friend. We never had a personal relationship like the one I had with General Buhari.”
He explained that his initial support for Tinubu’s presidential bid was principle-driven, initiated after he was approached by Southwest Islamic stakeholders to back a Muslim candidate from the region. “As governor of Kaduna and one of the founders of APC, I knew there was an understanding that after 8 years of Buhari, power would return to the south. It wasn’t about Tinubu; he was merely an accidental beneficiary,” he stated.
El-Rufai emphasized that once Tinubu won the APC primaries, he committed fully to the campaign out of party loyalty. “It is a principle of mine to fight for the candidate of my party in every election, whether I like the candidate or not.”
The core of their divergence, he said, lies in governance philosophy. “We didn’t fall out; we didn’t find areas of agreement. I am in government to serve the public and deliver results not to enrich myself or appoint cronies.”
He delivered a stark critique: “The philosophy of this government is contrary to everything I’ve been taught as a Muslim, a northerner, and a Nigerian. They came to govern the cake, to enrich themselves. We are different people parallel lines that will never meet.”
El-Rufai added that even if he had accepted the ministerial position publicly offered by Tinubu, he would have eventually left due to these irreconcilable differences in approach to governance and public service.
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