‘Would you say this if you were in Tinubu’s cabinet?’ — Bwala replies el-Rufai on anti-APC comments

Daniel Bwala, the special adviser on policy communication to President Bola Tinubu, has taken on Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, on his attempt to unseat the incumbent administration.

Bwala’s comments followed el-Rufai’s claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has abandoned its founding principles and is promoting poor leadership.

On Monday, the former governor spoke at a national conference in Abuja and said that the party has left him behind despite being a founding member.

“I am the founding member of the APC. But frankly, I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. I don’t even know if it is a one-man show. It is a zero-man show,” el-Rufai had said.

“Though I am the founding member, the party has left me behind. I’m still there where we were. We wanted to form a progressive party that will fight corruption, revamp the economy, and restore security to Nigerians. That was the objective of forming our party.

“But where is the APC today? I don’t recognise it like I said. It has left me behind. I still believe that the purpose of political contestation in Nigeria is still remains revamping the economy, restoring security and fighting corruption. The problems are still there.

“You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today.

“The problems that led to the creation of the APC remain unresolved, but I no longer believe the APC is interested in addressing them. The distance between me and the party is widening.”

‘WOULD YOU HAVE HELD THE SAME POSITION IF YOU WERE IN GOVERNMENT?’

Reacting to el-Rufai’s outburst in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Bwala questioned the former minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) if he would hold the same view if he were in the government.

The presidential spokesperson said el-Rufai participated in the formation of the current government but now wants to unseat it.

“My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position?” Bwala asked.

“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 (Fear Allah now).”

Since 2023, there have been speculations that el-Rufai has been working to pitch his political tent elsewhere outside the APC.

The rumours gained traction after the former governor could not scale through the ministerial screening hurdle at the national assembly.

The senate withheld his confirmation over petitions filed against him.

Early this month, el-Rufai held a “strategic meeting” with Hamza Al-Mustapha, the ex-aide to the late Sani Abacha; Shehu Gabam, national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PDP); and other politicians in Abuja.

Segun Showunmi, a former spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation, said the meeting was to strategise ahead of the 2027 elections.