El-Rufai says his support for Tinubu’s presidency was driven by principle and party loyalty, not personal friendship.
Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna governor, says he never had a personal relationship with President Bola Tinubu, dismissing public assumptions of friendship. In an interview, he said, “There is an assumption that I was ever Tinubu’s friend. I was not. We never got along.”
El-Rufai said his support for Tinubu’s 2023 bid was based on principle, not loyalty, citing power rotation and appeals from south-west Islamic leaders. “It was a matter of principle I stood for,” he said, adding that party loyalty compelled him to campaign once Tinubu emerged candidate.
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