El-Rufai prepares to fight Tinubu in two courts

Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, is preparing for a legal battle against President Bola Tinubu.

In a recent report by Vanguard, it has been revealed that El-Rufai is determined to clear his name in court amidst allegations that have labelled him as a security risk.

At the same time, he is preparing himself for a political battle that could have an impact on the president’s chances of being re-elected in 2027.

The upcoming clash can be traced back to the Tinubu administration’s contentious choice to exclude El-Rufai from a ministerial position, citing security concerns. This decision has ignited widespread public and political debate.

El-Rufai’s recent activities, such as his interactions with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and opposition figures, indicate a noticeable shift towards political dissent.

El-Rufai, who had initially planned to take a break in academia, was convinced to lend his expertise to the government’s efforts in revitalising the energy sector, despite his significant role in Tinubu’s presidential campaign.

Using his expertise gained from his time at the Bureau for Public Enterprises and his involvement in energy reforms during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, El-Rufai commenced preparations for his ministerial position. However, his plans were abruptly disrupted when he was unexpectedly excluded from the Senate’s screening process due to security clearance concerns.

The surprising decision has left political observers in disbelief, given El-Rufai’s significant role in mobilising support from Northern governors for Tinubu and his crucial contributions to Tinubu’s victories in key Southwestern states.

A senior government official from one of the Southwest states on the condition of anonymity said, “He played a key role in funding us in my state and I can tell this because I was personally involved.”

Beside the significant contribution as attested by the official from the Southwest State, El-Rufai in the twilight qaof the Muhammadu Buhari administration also shocked many with his decision to, along with others challenge the Federal Government over the naira redesign project of the federal government.

Defending why he opposed the Buhari government on the naira redesign policy, El-Rufai had claimed it was meant to instigate the polity against the APC by those around the former president who failed in their bid to stop Tinubu from getting the presidential ticket.

He said, “They also sought to achieve any one or more of the following objectives: create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections.”

However, despite his stellar role in helping Tinubu to power, a source close to El-Rufai disclosed that the camp of the former governor believed that it was wrong for him to have been so publicly humiliated and to have been tagged a security risk.

One of the confidants of the former governor told Saturday Vanguard, “You think Mallam will allow this tag to abide on him? I can assure you that he is going to clear his name in court.

“El-Rufai is a man who has many contacts internationally and he is not one to allow his reputation to be smeared by the reason given by the Senate of being a security risk,” the source said in revealing the prospects of court action to enable the former governor to clear his name.

Besides the resort to the court of law, the former governor it was gathered is also mobilising to play a role against Tinubu in the court of public opinion ahead of 2027.

Whether El-Rufai would stand as a candidate or mobilise against the president in 2027 in the same way he did in supporting him in 2023 is, however, a matter that is yet to be determined.

Saturday Vanguard reports that the strategic facilitation provided by El-Rufai to Tinubu came after he had in the past lampooned Tinubu as a godfather. He had at a lecture in May 2019 averred that it was possible to defeat the godfather of Lagos.

A year later at a webinar to commemorate the 63rd birthday of Rauf Aregbesola in May 2020, El-Rufai had said that Tinubu was not his man.

While congratulating Aregbesola, El-Rufai said, “I want to congratulate my brother, Ogbeni (Aregbesola), on his birthday. You know I’m your man any day. I’m not Asiwaju’s man and you are Asiwaju’s man, but I am your man any day. Asiwaju and I have differences but you and I have no differences.”