Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has publicly renounced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, calling him “evil” and admitting regret for helping him ascend to power.
Speaking on Arise News Channel’s PrimeTime show on Monday, El-Rufai declared, “I just feel like I contributed to this country’s problems by bringing the evil Tinubu into power. I should do the last lap by removing Tinubu.”
He also noted growing public frustration with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), “Nigerians are tired of the APC. Ninety-one per cent of citizens disapprove of it. They want alternatives. They want people who can put aside their differences.”
El-Rufai is reportedly backing a new coalition known as the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), which he says includes politicians from various affiliations—ranging from the camps of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to ex-ministers under Muhammadu Buhari.
“Parties are not involved in this movement,” El-Rufai explained.
“Everybody has their group—there’s a group drawn from Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi has his group, and former Buhari ministers have their groups. I am not representing SDP—that’s how this coalition is formed.”
He added that if necessary, the groups may eventually merge into a single political party.
“It is about fixing the country. Nobody is talking about his ambition. It is that Nigeria is ruled by urban bandits, so we want to drive them away and fix this country.”
El-Rufai likened the present mood in the country to the one that preceded the collapse of Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2015, saying the coalition at the time formed because the government was failing and deeply divided.
In a moment of self-criticism, he warned Nigerians to be cautious of his past endorsements.
“Don’t trust what I say. It seems like I’m not good at picking political candidates. Don’t trust what I say. Check if the person I pick will be better than the previous person.”
