I thought Tinubu was a serious human being – El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari supported his decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) due to the way he was treated by President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai stated that he personally informed Buhari of his plan to leave the APC and received the former president’s blessing.

“I met with him (Buhari) on Friday and told him about my consultations in preparation to leave the party. I sought his blessing and prayers and informed him about the new party I was joining. He gave his blessing, offered prayers, and wished me success,” El-Rufai disclosed.

When asked whether his defection stemmed from bitterness over not being appointed as a minister, El-Rufai dismissed the claim, insisting he never lobbied for a position but was instead urged to join Tinubu’s government.

“Tinubu publicly begged me in Kaduna to come and work with him,” he said.

The former governor explained that he only considered the offer after a private discussion with Tinubu, during which the president emphasized the electricity crisis as a major obstacle to Nigeria’s development.

“He (Tinubu) said the power problem has hindered Nigeria’s progress, and previous administrations failed to solve it. He sought my support to help him become the president who would finally address the issue. It was based on this challenge that I agreed to consider working with him—I thought he was serious.”

Despite his disappointment, El-Rufai maintained that he did not regret supporting Tinubu’s presidential ambition but was let down by how events unfolded.

Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala dismissed El-Rufai’s defection, describing it as an inordinate ambition to unseat President Tinubu—one he insisted would fail.