Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has intensified his attacks on the Bola Tinubu administration, predicting that the president will come third in the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai, now a leading figure in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, said his political calculations show that Tinubu has “no pathway to win” on the first ballot.
“Tinubu will be third in the 2027 election. I have done my maths, and I can tell you Tinubu has no pathway to win. The worst-case scenario is that there will not be any winner in the first ballot,” he declared.
The former governor urged Nigerians to judge the administration by their personal realities.
“Ask yourself, is your life better now under President Tinubu?” he asked, insisting that there is “no pretence of good intentions” in the government.
El-Rufai dismissed speculations about his own ambition for ministerial office, saying he had been considered for the energy portfolio but declined.
“I was a minister at the age of 23. I don’t need to be a minister again,” he said, while noting that he had a roadmap to transform the energy sector if appointed.
Once a strong ally of Tinubu and a prominent campaigner for his 2023 victory under the All Progressives Congress (APC), El-Rufai has now aligned with opposition heavyweights such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party flag bearer Peter Obi, and ex-Transportation Minister Chibuike Amaechi under the ADC coalition.
He dismissed the notion that governors determine election victories, citing his own experience based on party loyalty.
“I was in APC, yet I did not deliver my state. Bola Tinubu did not win his state,” he said, faulting the government’s handling of insecurity, where, according to him, terrorists allegedly declared dead are later found roaming the streets.
He rejected the promises by some opposition allies to serve only a single term if elected president, saying nobody believes such commitments, as things usually change once they assume office, adding that the promise is even unfair.
Addressing perceptions that he is a religious fundamentalist, El-Rufai dismissed the criticism as baseless, saying that those who see him that way neither know him nor have met him. He added that his enemies hate him because he does not care about their opinions, noting that those who have worked with him know who he truly is.
He further rejected claims of bias against Southern Kaduna during his tenure, stressing that his government applied the law fairly.
“There are people in Southern Kaduna who feel entitled to behave in a certain way, and we didn’t take it; I dealt with them. Some of the closest people I worked with in government are from Southern Kaduna. They know that this is not true,” he maintained.
El-Rufai concluded by highlighting reforms from his eight-year rule in Kaduna, including cutting wasteful government spending and halting irregular practices.
