Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has clarified that he never shared any personal or political bond with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stating that their relationship was never rooted in friendship or alliance.
Speaking during a television interview, El-Rufai dismissed widespread assumptions that he and the President were once close associates.
“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.
El-Rufai, a prominent figure in the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC), explained that his support for Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election was based strictly on political principles and party loyalty within the All Progressives Congress (APC), not personal affection.
According to him, his backing for Tinubu followed appeals from certain Islamic stakeholders in the South-West who advocated for a Muslim presidential candidate from the region.
“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.
The former governor emphasized that his decision was also guided by an internal understanding within the APC that power would shift to the South after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
“As one of the founders of the APC, I knew that we had an understanding with the South, specifically the South-West, 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 noted that once Tinubu secured the party’s presidential ticket, he committed fully to ensuring the APC’s victory at the polls, regardless of personal preferences.
“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 explained.
However, he acknowledged that deep differences in values and governance philosophy later became evident, making any form of lasting alignment impossible.
“We didn’t fall out. We just could not find areas of agreement. There was no equilibrium. We couldn’t agree,” he said.
El-Rufai stressed that his approach to governance centers on service delivery and measurable results, distancing himself from what he described as practices driven by personal enrichment.
“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 stated.
He further disclosed that even if his proposed ministerial appointment under Tinubu’s administration had been confirmed, he would likely have resigned due to ideological differences.
“Even if the offer that Tinubu made to me to be a minister had gone through, I would have left the government long ago. The philosophy of this government is contrary to everything I have been taught as a Muslim, as a northerner, and as a Nigerian,” he declared.
El-Rufai concluded by asserting that the fundamental contrast between his values and those of the President makes any enduring partnership unrealistic.
“These guys didn’t come to govern, they came to enrich themselves, pure and simple. We are different people. So it should not surprise anybody that knows me and knows Tinubu to see that we are parallel lines that will never meet,” he said.
El-Rufai: I Was Never Tinubu’s Friend, Our Paths Were Always Parallel
