Kehinde Fajobi
Former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai has accused his successor, Governor Uba Sani, of sycophantically defending President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The two, both members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have been at odds since Sani took office.
El-Rufai, who was blocked from becoming a minister in 2023 over security concerns, has recently criticised Tinubu’s government, accusing the APC of fostering poor leadership.
In a recent interview on TVC, Sani claimed El-Rufai’s opposition to Tinubu was self-serving.
“Most of these politicians that came out and say they are coming as coalition, they are politicians that were in government only less than two years ago,” he said.
“What did they do when they were in government? They were only fighting for power, not because they could do anything better.”
He added, “No president in the history of Nigeria has really practised democracy like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Responding in a Tuesday morning post on X, El-Rufai questioned Sani’s loyalty, suggesting financial incentives were behind his stance.
“Every day I see this governor embarrassingly and sycophantically rambling, I used to wonder why? However, confirming that Federal Government ‘reimbursements, interventions and grants’ in excess of N150bn have been given selectively to Kaduna by Tinubu, in the last 18 months, now explains everything,” he wrote.
He added, “By all means, defend Asiwaju for the conditional cash transfer. Asiwaju has earned it, coming from you. The people of Kaduna State will judge at the right time and place.”
Quoting former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, El-Rufai further emphasised the need for effective governance, writing: