Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is gearing up for a legal showdown with President Bola Tinubu amid allegations of security risks, reports Vanguard. El-Rufai aims to clear his name in court while preparing for a potential political clash impacting Tinubu’s 2027 re-election aspirations.
The dispute stems from Tinubu’s administration’s decision to exclude El-Rufai from ministerial appointment due to purported security concerns, sparking widespread debate. El-Rufai’s recent affiliations with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and opposition figures indicate a growing alignment with political dissent.
Despite El-Rufai’s past contributions to Tinubu’s presidential campaign, including rallying Northern governors’ support and facilitating electoral victories in key Southwestern states, his exclusion from ministerial office surprised many. The move contradicted his previous involvement in energy sector revitalization plans and influential role in Tinubu’s political success.
A senior government official from one of the Southwest states on the condition of anonymity said, “He played a key role in funding us in my state and I can tell this because I was personally involved.”
Beside the significant contribution as attested by the official from the Southwest State, El-Rufai in the twilight qaof the Muhammadu Buhari administration also shocked many with his decision to, along with others challenge the Federal Government over the naira redesign project of the federal government.
Defending why he opposed the Buhari government on the naira redesign policy, El-Rufai had claimed it was meant to instigate the polity against the APC by those around the former president who failed in their bid to stop Tinubu from getting the presidential ticket.
He said, “They also sought to achieve any one or more of the following objectives: create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections.”
However, despite his stellar role in helping Tinubu to power, a source close to El-Rufai disclosed that the camp of the former governor believed that it was wrong for him to have been so publicly humiliated and to have been tagged a security risk.
One of the confidants of the former governor told Saturday Vanguard, “You think Mallam will allow this tag to abide on him? I can assure you that he is going to clear his name in court.
“El-Rufai is a man who has many contacts internationally and he is not one to allow his reputation to be smeared by the reason given by the Senate of being a security risk,” the source said in revealing the prospects of court action to enable the former governor to clear his name.
