Bola Tinubu and Nasir El‑Rufai
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El‑Rufai, said on Friday in Abuja that he is not backing All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu in hopes of securing a political appointment. Speaking in Hausa after the Progressive Governors Forum met the President at the State House, Abuja, to discuss the new naira policy, El‑Rufai stressed that his recent remarks were not directed at President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). He asserted that his influence in Nigeria’s political arena makes him “beyond needing a godfather.”
El‑Rufai’s comments have sparked controversy after he claimed that some individuals in the Aso Rock Villa were working to sabotage Tinubu’s emergence as the APC flagbearer. On a Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, last Wednesday, he explained that these persons were disgruntled because Tinubu defeated their preferred candidate in the June 2022 APC presidential primaries. He linked the naira redesign policy to a broader scheme targeting Tinubu, echoing a similar allegation made a week earlier.
Addressing the President’s policies at the State House, El‑Rufai said, “I am not criticising Buhari. I have never criticised Buhari. I am only criticising those around him who do not tell him the truth, who do not tell him the challenges that the people are facing because of these policies. We support the President’s policies because we know the real reason why he is implementing them. But these policies are not being carried out correctly and they are not telling him that. That is why those of us who really love the President are telling him the truth, not those who are trying to use him. And the President knows that.”
He further clarified that his support for the APC flagbearer is not a bid for patronage. “Which godfather am I looking for? Tinubu is our candidate and we want him to win. But I am telling you now that I am not looking for an appointment. I swear I am beyond needing a godfather. I am not looking for work or money. I look up to God for everything I am looking for, not a human being.”
Earlier, El‑Rufai revealed that the Progressive Governors Forum wants the President to press the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the old and new naira notes to coexist, a move he believes would ease the scarcity of cash and its ancillary effects. He noted that the CBN had withdrawn over N2 trillion of old notes but had printed only N300 billion of new ones, leaving the new notes insufficient for Nigerians. “We informed the President about this, and he said within the next seven days he would talk to the CBN and other agencies. He also said the commercial banks are at fault and he will see how to resolve this. He did not indicate whether there will be an extension; he said he will find out what is really happening. In the states we have seen that if this issue is not brought under control, it may lead to tension across the nation, mar the elections, and even prevent the conduct of elections altogether,” El‑Rufai warned.
The former Federal Capital Territory minister criticized the CBN’s cashless policy, arguing that it should have been preceded by printing at least half of the withdrawn amount, N1 trillion. He lamented that many Nigerians are suffering, while traders of perishable goods lose their wares due to low cash availability. Using tomatoes as an example, he said sellers from the North who travel to Lagos often waste their produce because buyers lack the cash to purchase them. “In some states and local government areas there are no banks, and there are challenges with POS outlets. As a result, people cannot buy goods in the market. Those trading tomatoes from the North to Lagos are running at a loss because their goods are getting spoiled. No money to buy them.”
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