Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, has explained why he and President Bola Tinubu reportedly disagreed, emphasising that the argument was never personal.
El-Rufai claimed that he and Tinubu never had a close personal relationship in an interview with Trust TV on Monday.
He clarified that his early backing of Tinubu was motivated more by principle than by a personal connection.
“I was never Tinubu’s friend. We never had a personal relationship like the one I had with General Buhari,” El-Rufai said.
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“I was approached by certain Islamic stakeholders from the southwest to support the emergence of a southwest Muslim presidential candidate.
“That is how the discussions started. 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 stressed his commitment to party unity once Tinubu won the APC primaries.
“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 fact that he emerged as the party’s candidate meant I would give everything to ensure he won,” he said.
The former governor went on to say that his disagreements with Tinubu sprang from their differing views on governance.
“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.
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“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 said.
He added that because of those basic philosophical differences, he would have quit the administration even if he had taken Tinubu’s publicly offered cabinet position.
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