El-Rufai: Elements in govt working against Tinubu

• Published date: 02 February 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

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There are powerful forces working against the political interests of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai alleged yesterday.

He claimed that certain unnamed individuals in the presidency do not want APC presidential standard bearer Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to win the February 25 poll.

Their grouse, he said, is that their preferred candidate did win the party's primaries.

'I believe that there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the elections because they didn't get their way.

'They had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primary,' El-Rufai said on the Channels breakfast show Sunrise Daily.

The wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, appeared to agree with the governor.

She uploaded a clip of El-Rufai's interview on her Instagram account, captioning the post: '#longlivethefederalrepublicofnigeria'.

But, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government was not aware of saboteurs in the presidency.

The APC Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) said Tinubu retained President Buhari's unalloyed support, insisting that his backing overrides any subversive elements in the Villa.

Also, the Kaduna governor said: 'Let me assure you hundred per cent, the entire Northern governors of the APC are completely, wholeheartedly supporting the next president, Bola Tinubu.'

According to El-Rufai, those working against the APC were embittered by the fact that their favoured candidate did not emerge as the presidential flagbearer.

He said: 'They had their candidate; their candidate didn't win the primaries.

'I think they are still trying to get us to lose the elections and they are hiding behind the President's desire to do what he thinks is right.'

The Kaduna governor cited the retention of the fuel subsidy and the naira redesign policy as instances of decisions taken without recourse to the party.

He said: 'They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president's desire to do what he thinks is right.

'I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.

'In fact, I had a discussion with the President and showed him why it had to go.

'How can you have a capital budget of N200 billion for federal roads and then spend N2trillion on...