The Presidency has fired back at former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, after he accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of plotting to remain in power indefinitely.
El-Rufai, who met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the weekend, had likened Tinubu to Cameroon’s Paul Biya, saying, “the signs are there that President Tinubu wants to turn himself into Paul Biya who has held on to power since assuming office in 1982.”
He also dismissed Tinubu’s democratic record, claiming “all the Democratic credentials of the president were fake” and that the administration was “already tilting towards totalitarianism.”
Responding on Sunday, September 21, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said El-Rufai’s claims were baseless.
“President Tinubu is a democrat who does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027,” Onanuga stated in a post on his official X handle.
READ ALSO: El-Rufai: I Helped Tinubu Become President, But He Has Gone Off Track
He suggested El-Rufai was unsettled by the massive support Tinubu received during a recent visit to Kaduna.
“This stands in stark contrast to his narrative that the region has abandoned the President,” Onanuga noted.
The presidential aide accused the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory of peddling “hallucinations and political fabrications,” saying his attempt to undermine Tinubu’s re-election prospects was “a mission doomed to fail.”
“Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai appears to need some help, especially given his recent unfounded claims and speculations about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Onanuga wrote.
He added, “Governor Uba Sani may wish to reach out to his predecessor, as El-Rufai could benefit from some professional counselling to steer him away from his recent hallucinations and political fabrications on Tinubu and 2027.”
