Immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, has insisted that even if he were to be a part of President Bola Tinubu’s government, he would still criticize the administration anytime they go wrong.
El-Rufai, who made the assertion in response to a remark by Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Policy Communication to the President, who asked him what he would do differently if he was in government, said he would still pick holes in government policies that are anti-people.
The former FCT Minister had, on January 28, slammed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the party had derailed from its founding ideals and principles.
While speaking in Abuja at a National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria, El-Rufai had decried what he described as the inability of the APC to sustain the gains of democracy as the state of governance in the country was abysmal and a national emergency.
He had also condemned the quality of leadership emerging from political parties which he blamed on unqualified individuals occupying positions of authority.
The remarks had elicited several responses including Bwala who took to his X page to address El-Rufai:
“My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana.”
My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana
— D. H Bwala (@BwalaDaniel) January 28, 2025
However, in his reposte to Bwala’s comments, El-Rufai said:
“Good morning, @BwalaDaniel. I was cabinet minster 22 years ago, and was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government.
“The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.
“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I will say or do the same on the tragedy within a party I was a founder, and the government that emerged from it – first in private sessions with those concerned, and then go public if no remedial actions are taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.
“I am only responding to you because I still think you are a decent person who may need a job, and not in the class of Wendell Simlin and that Kaduna pretender that our voters retired in 2019 – these clowns are political mercenaries that receive humongous monthly stipends from the security vote to be the first to jump on X and other platforms to defend everything the Asiwaju government does or fails to do, no matter how indefensible it may be.
“Enjoy your special adviser position, my brother, but remember that allegiance to God and country comes first in human scale of accountability, before any person or authority.”
Good morning, @BwalaDaniel. I was cabinet minster 22 years ago, and was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted…
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) January 30, 2025