El-Rufai: ‘I am not Tinubu’s man’

Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai says he’s had his differences with APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

On May 4, 2019, while speaking at an event in Ikoyi, El-Rufai said it is easy to end godfatherism in Lagos.

"If I want to run for governor of Lagos, I will start now. I will commission a study to know why those five million registered voters did not vote; where do they go on election day?

"Then I will start visiting them for the next four years. I will try and get just two million of them to come and vote for me; I will defeat any godfather.

"The key is to go to the people. The card reader and the biometric register have given us the tools to connect directly with the people.

"I assure you if you do that for the next four years, connecting with the people; the tin godfather, you will retire him or her permanently. But it is hard work; it requires three to four years of hard work. So, if you want to run in 2023, you should start now,” El-Rufai had said.

Some sections of the local press would go on to interpret El-Rufai’s remarks as a dig at Tinubu who is the biggest godfather in the politics of the southwest and Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city.

Aregbesola monitors his first ever virtual colloquium from his living room (Aregbesola media) Aregbesola monitors his first ever virtual colloquium from his living room (Aregbesola media) Pulse Nigeria

During the ‘Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola Colloquium 2020,’ a virtual conference put together to commemorate the Interior Minister’s 63rd birthday, El-Rufai said: “I am not Asiwaju’s man. You (Aregbesola) are Asiwaju’s man. Asiwaju and I have our differences.You and I have none."

El-Rufai had also said he replicated some of Aregbesola’s programs as governor of Osun in Kaduna.