Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, says that the performance of the current federal government has fallen far below expectations, particularly in security and governance.
Speaking during an appearance on ARISE TV Prime Time, El-Rufai said the scale of deterioration in national affairs exceeded what he anticipated during the election period.
“If you asked me in 2022 or 2023 when we were campaigning that things would ever be this bad, I would say that you are mentally ill,” he said.
El-Rufai alleged that massive sums are being deducted monthly from the Federation Account without legislative approval at federal or state levels.
“Government data, I’m not quoting something out of the air. So for that $100 billion that goes out every month from the Federation account, without appropriation by the National Assembly, by the way, without appropriation by the state assemblies, because part of the money belongs to the states, so each state assembly is supposed to appropriate that part,” he said.
He argued that such financial practices breach constitutional provisions and amount to grounds for removal from office.
“So the entire deduction and expenditure is unconstitutional. It’s an impeachable offense,” he said.
El-Rufai said the alleged practice has continued for over 15 months, raising serious questions about transparency and fiscal accountability.
“So where has that $1.5 trillion gone? What is it being used for?” he asked.
He also linked the disputed expenditure to worsening insecurity across the country, questioning the effectiveness of government spending in addressing violence.
“Why is the security situation just getting worse? Why is the government asking communities to protect themselves?” he asked.
El-Rufai concluded that, based on current realities, the administration has performed worse than he and others expected.