The exchange of words between former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and presidential media aide Daniel Bwala escalated on Thursday, as El-Rufai stated that he would still criticize the All Progressives Congress (APC) even if he were serving in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet as a minister.
Good morning, @BwalaDaniel. I was cabinet minster 22 years ago, and was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted… https://t.co/OC8aJYa0iM
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) January 30, 2025
On Monday, El-Rufai spoke at a national conference in Abuja, saying he no longer recognise the APC and that the party has tended toward a one-man show.
“You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he had said, criticising the leadership of the party.
Bwala responded on X and said El-Rufai would not have expressed such a position if he were in the cabinet of the President.
He said, “My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam.”
Replying to the presidential aide on X, El-Rufai said, “I was cabinet minister 22 years ago, and was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.
“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I will say or do the same on the tragedy within a party I was a founder, and the government that emerged from it – first in private sessions with those concerned, and then go public if no remedial actions are taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.”
President Bola Tinubu nominated Nasir El-Rufai as a minister in August 2023, but the Senate rejected the former Kaduna State governor’s nomination. Since then, El-Rufai has been noticeably absent from gatherings of APC chieftains and has not been spotted at the Aso Villa, the seat of power, or in the company of the president, despite his active role in campaigning for Tinubu during the last election.