Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has alleged that the government of President Bola Tinubu is worse than any military regime Nigeria has ever experienced.
Speaking when he hosted former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar at the weekend, El-Rufai described the Tinubu government as a “disgrace to democratic ideals”.
Atiku paid a solidarity visit to the former governor over the attack which happened during the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna State.
El-Rufai and the Kaduna State government were locked in heated arguments over the incident, with each side accusing the other of being responsible for it.
The police later invited El-Rufai and some ADC chieftains over the incident.
When Atiku visited him, El-Rufai claimed that this government is tilting towards authoritarianism, comparing Tinubu to President Paul Biya of Cameroon, who has held unto power since assuming office in 1982.
In his remarks, El-Rufai accusing it of centralising power rather than deepening federalism.
“Honestly sir, to me, it is even a disgrace. I mean, for people to behave the way they are behaving, it means that all the years of saying that we are for democracy and NADECO, all the claims that we are fighting for true federalism and so on—it was all a pretence, all fake again. Because this government (Tinubu’s administration) is trying to centralize everything instead of devolving power to the lower levels.”
“The sum total of this is that we are facing an evil of such a large proportion in the history of this country that if we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,” El-Rufai said.
Praising his guest Atiku’s role in Nigeria’s democratic struggles, the former governor said Nigerians were counting on his experience and leadership to rally the opposition.
“You (Atiku Abubakar) are our leader, you have done this fight before, you have fought the military, you have experience in democratic governance. And when you and Obasanjo were in charge of this country, no one was being harassed because he had a different political feel, never, not once. Even President Buhari, with his military background, never did that, and here we are facing full-fledged civilians but they are worse than any military regime we’ve ever had.
“Your call that we must unite is a timely one. I think the people of Nigeria have made up their mind that APC must be voted out. Nigerians are looking forward to his (Tinubu’s) ouster. We must provide the leadership and the unity of purpose that we have talked about, and then I am sure with your leadership, forbearance and diplomatic skills of bringing people together, I am sure we will reach the Promised Land,” El-Rufai said.
In his response, Atiku applauded El-Rufai and appealed to opposition leaders to remain focused and ensure that Tinubu is voted out in 2027.
“Anyway, I know you are not the type of person who is scared to confront this situation, the more reason why we should come together to confront this situation to make sure that, one, it doesn’t happen anymore during the remaining part of this administration, and secondly, like you said, we send them out by 2027, not through any other thing else but through the ballot box,” Atiku said.
