· Says Buhari aides working to undermine Tinubu’s ambition
· Aisha Buhari backs Kaduna Gov., shares El’Rufai video on Instagram
· We ‘re not aware of any Villa insiders undermining Tinubu victory – FG
With only three weeks to the conduct of the presidential election on February 25, the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has released a bombshell, accusing some Aso Rock Villa officials close to President Muhammadu Buhari of undermining the presidential ambition of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ironically, Tinubu the flag bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the party’s primaries, had boasted that he single handedly made Buhari president and so, itw was his turn, creating the word ‘Emilokan’ which has entered the country’s political lexicon.
El-Rufai accused some elements in Aso Rock of working against the planned victory of the APC presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections.
He made this known in a Channels Television Sunrise Daily programme interview, Wednesday morning, claiming that there are people trying to ensure that APC lost the February 25 presidential election.
According to him, these people made it known that they had their candidate in the primary election but didn’t win the primaries and due to that, they are working against Tinubu in the election.
His words, ‘’I believe there are elements in the villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way. They had their candidate but their candidate didn’t win the primary election.
“I think they are still trying to get us to lose the election and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right,” he alleged.
The Kaduna State henchman was apparently making a veiled reference to President Buhari who, during the APC presidential primaries, announced his preferred candidate as Senate President Ahmed Lawan who eventually lost to Tinubu in the primaries.
In a quick reaction to El-Rufai’s claim, the wife of President Buhari, Aisha ‘endorsed’ the video of El-Rufai accusing “elements” in the Presidential Villa of working against APC presidential candidate, Tinubu.
Aisha had uploaded the video on Instagram on Wednesday, hours after El-Rufai spoke on Channels TV programme.The President’s wife, who also leads Tinubu’s women campaign train, captioned the post: “#
El-Rufai said the unnamed people are now hiding behind President Buhari to pursue their interests.
“I believe there are elements in the villa who want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.
“They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right.
“I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of Naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.
“In fact, I had a discussion with the president and showed him why it had to go. Because how can you have a capital budget of N200 billion for federal roads and then spend N2 trillion on petroleum subsidy? This was a conversation I had with the president in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left it changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.
“The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the president. People are blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the currency redesign, but No.
‘’You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as president. He did this; the Buhari, Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy with a view to catching those that are stashing away illicit funds. It is a very good intention. The President has his right. But doing it at this time within the allotted time does not make any political or economic sense.”
The Federal Government has disowned the allegation of El Rufai saying that the federal government was not officially aware of any entity in the presidential Villa working against the APC presidential flag bearer, Tinubu. It also affirmed that Buhari was neither favouring nor disfavouring any presidential candidate ahead of the February 25 election.
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed made this known in a statement in which he said, “If there’s anybody who is working against any candidate, we don’t know officially”, Mohammed, told State House Correspondents after the week’s Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Mohammed argued that the Buhari-led government has been fair to all candidates regardless of party affiliations.
His words, “On a more serious note, one thing I can assure you is that, no matter who, this administration is focused and determined to ensure a free and fair election. And I think this administration, and for that matter now, the most important person in this regard is Mr. President.
“I think he has shown by words and deeds that he is committed to a free, fair and credible election. And fair, free and credible elections mean not favouring or disfavouring anybody.
“Everywhere he goes, he makes that very clear, even as recently as Friday, when he was in Daura. He said the same thing. So, if there’s anybody who’s working against any candidate, we don’t know officially.”
The APC presidential candidate, Tinubu, had expressed concern about the allegiance of President Buhari, citing the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the lingering fuel crisis as part of plots to thwart the polls and his expected victory.