You can't impose Tinubu on the North - Bafarawa tackles El-Rufai

A former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, has reacted to claims by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State that the North will support the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in the forthcoming election.

Bafarawa, who is also a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was reacting to comments made by El-Rufai in a recent interview with the BBC.

The Kaduna State Governor had stated that there are no elders left in the north, a remark the PDP chieftain deemed as an affront to the region.

The former Sokoto Governor also condemned El-Rufai over his attempt to paint all the Northern elders with the same brush.

The Kaduna Governor also claimed that the whole of the North had decided to support Tinubu which would help him coast to victory in the election, but complained that some elements were planning to sabotage the chances of the APC by hiding under the guise of the new naira notes.

But, Bafarawa insisted that El-Rufai can't impose his party's choice on the region while also questioning where he got the assurances from.

He said: “He was insisting that Tinubu must win the election, whether people like it or not, they have already won. Who told him that the whole of the North is supporting the APC?

“This is just his opinion, in that case, he has no right to insist on the North because everybody has his candidate.

“The way he is campaigning for Tinubu that is how we are campaigning for our candidate.”

Bafarawa also promised that shock awaits the Northern APC governors who believed they can use their influence to cede power to the Southern part of the country.

“we will shock them, we will make them understand that this country belongs to nobody, likewise the North,” said the former Governor.

Quoting El-Rufai who said, “(On) the issue of elders; there is nothing like elders, I am also an elder, I will be 63 years this 2023, so who are the elders in the North? We the northern governors are the elders and we are the leaders of the north,” Bafarawa said age isn't equal to being responsible.

The PDP chieftain said: “He is talking about being 63, doesn’t he see that there are still elders left in the North? For us, we see that these comments are lacking in responsibility.

“His comments lack being responsible and respectful, What is expected of him are comments that can lead to the development of the North and the development of the country at large.

“El-Rufai talked about contesting for elections and winning, if this is what he referred to as being responsible, we have contested and won before him.”