Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu and his team did not come to power to govern the country but to enrich themselves.
In an interview with Abuja-based Trust Television, El-Rufai who was initially nominated by President Tinubu to serve in his cabinet but was turned down as a result of adverse security report claimed that he never had a relationship with the president prior to him supporting the Tinubu’s candidature.
He said he supported Tinubu first because he “was approached by certain Islamic stakeholders from the Southwest and asked to support the emergence of a Southwest Muslim presidential candidate” and secondly because “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.”
According to El- Rufai, even if he had been appointed into the Tinubu cabinet, ” it would not have lasted”.
“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.
“For me, Tinubu was initially just an aspirant of the party. I was approached by certain Islamic stakeholders from the Southwest and asked to support the emergence of a Southwest Muslim presidential candidate,” he stated.
According to El-Rufai, his support was anchored on an understanding within the party that power would shift to the South after eight years of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“As one of the founders of the APC, I knew that we had an understanding with the South, specifically the Southwest, that after eight years of Buhari, power would go to the South. It was a matter of principle. It wasn’t about Tinubu,” he said.
He added that once Tinubu emerged as the party’s candidate, he committed himself fully to ensuring the APC’s victory at the polls.
“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,” El-Rufai said.
Mallam El-Rufai emphasised that there was no relationship between him and Tinubu in the first place so there was no question of falling out.
“We didn’t fall out. We just could not find areas of agreement. There was no equilibrium. We couldn’t agree. I am in government for delivery, for results and performance. Public service is not about making money for yourself. It’s not about stealing. It’s not about appointing your cronies or your tribesmen,” he said.