Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai has denied ever having a personal or political relationship with President Bola Tinubu, saying his support for Tinubu’s 2023 presidential bid was based on principle, not friendship.
El-Rufai, a chieftain of the coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the remarks during a television interview, dismissing claims that he and Tinubu were once friends or political allies. “I think it’s important to make this clarification. There is an assumption that I was ever Tinubu’s friend. I was not. We never got along with Tinubu. We never had a personal relationship,” he said.
The former governor explained that his involvement in Tinubu’s 2023 presidential campaign stemmed from political principle and party discipline within the All Progressives Congress (APC). “For me, Tinubu was initially just an aspirant of the party. I was approached by certain Islamic stakeholders from the South-West and asked to support the emergence of a South-West Muslim presidential candidate,” he stated, adding that his support was tied to an understanding that power would shift to the South after former President Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
El-Rufai further noted that his backing of Tinubu was guided by party loyalty rather than personal affinity. “It is a principle of mine that I fight for the candidate of my party in every election to win, whether I like the candidate or not. Tinubu emerged as the candidate, and I gave everything to ensure that he won. And that’s what I did,” he said.
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