Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has accused President Bola Tinubu and his associates of being ungrateful to former Kaduna State governor Nasir El‑Rufai, saying El‑Rufai’s contributions helped Tinubu win the 2023 presidential election.
Galadima made the allegation during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered podcast, and said he had warned El‑Rufai to consider leaving Nigeria after his relationship with Tinubu deteriorated.
“Tinubu and his people are ingrates as far as El‑Rufai is concerned. I’m not the best friend of El‑Rufai. In fact, I advised him that he should be careful of the way he carries himself, that he either goes on exile or they will jail him,” Galadima said.
He said he had previously raised concerns about El‑Rufai’s situation in interviews with the BBC and Nigerian television stations.
Galadima also said he approached former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to persuade El‑Rufai not to return to Nigeria after learning the former Kaduna governor planned to come back from Egypt.
“I went and met Kwankwaso and told him that he should beg El‑Rufai not to come back. These people do not mean well to him,” Galadima said.
According to Galadima, Kwankwaso contacted El‑Rufai, who initially postponed his return before later announcing a new date and coming back to Nigeria.
He described El‑Rufai’s return as an act of bravery and alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress is determined to retain power.
“The desperation with which the APC is going, they can do anything under the sun to come back to power, because they know what it entails if they lose power; what they have done to people will visit them,” Galadima said.
Galadima’s comments come amid political tensions involving El‑Rufai and the Tinubu administration. His claims about the motives and intentions of Tinubu, APC members and others have not been independently verified.
