Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communication, has stated that Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, lacks the capacity to “unsettle” the president.
Speaking during an interview with TVC News on Thursday, February 6, Bwala added that Tinubu is not losing sleep over el-Rufai’s persistent criticism of his administration.
“Who is jittery? The political opponents have no direction. There is no organised political party in Nigeria other than APC. Almost all opposition parties are trying to find their way,” Bwala said, dismissing concerns about el-Rufai’s remarks and the regrouping of opposition politicians.
“I don’t attack because I see that the position of Mr President is that of reconciliation. In his 18 months in office, he has never reacted to anybody. He has never been seen being combative or aggressive against anybody,” he added.
El-Rufai has recently aimed criticism at members of the Tinubu administration and accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of deviating from its core values, claiming he no longer recognizes the party. Bwala, in response, questioned if el-Rufai’s stance would have been different had he been included in Tinubu’s cabinet. El-Rufai countered that he would continue to critique the party regardless of any potential role in the administration.
Bwala described el-Rufai as a political figure who only thrives under a “solid revolutionary” leader and argued that the former governor’s influence is limited. “El-Rufai, as he said, is still in APC. You treat him like a brother. I know his grandstanding. I know he is having some trouble finding a path,” Bwala said.
“If you leave a governing party, which you have influence, and think that you can undertake a mission, you have to have a place that is working to do that. He does not have the capacity to make the president unsettled. No opposition party, even if combined, can make the president unsettled.”
Bwala further asserted that El-Rufai’s political successes were tied to former President Muhammadu Buhari. “Let me tell you something about my elder brother, el-Rufai, and whether we should be worried. There is a dynamic around el-Rufai. El-Rufai needed a solid revolutionary person to thrive. On his own, el-Rufai may not win the senate.”
“He won governorship because of the Buhari factor and got re-elected because of the Buhari factor. If you leave him now to go and run for senate in Kaduna, he would not win,” Bwala concluded.