Yakasai backs Tinubu as Lamido slams El-Rufai’s defection call
Prominent elder statesman and First Republic politician, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, on Sunday expressed strong support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, highlighting the steady progress and achievements recorded by the government.
Speaking to newsmen in Kano, Yakasai praised Nigerians for their continued support and prayers for Tinubu’s success, asserting that the administration’s accomplishments validated the public’s trust.
“Reports I’ve received indicate that the prices of basic foodstuffs have been steadily decreasing. Unlike before, families can now afford essentials like rice, beans, maize, and sorghum,” Yakasai declared. “I’ve also been informed that the cost of petrol has reduced, with some stations now selling for as low as N850 per liter, compared to the earlier N1,150. This is beneficial for transportation and Nigerians’ mobility.”
Yakasai, a key supporter of Tinubu’s presidential bid in 2023, encouraged northerners to continue rallying behind the administration, stressing that the North was not excluded from the current government’s plans.
He also assured that the administration’s best was yet to come, citing a range of developmental policies and programmes aimed at benefiting Nigerians, especially those in the North.
Yakasai urged Nigerians and the political class to contribute positively to the nation’s democracy by offering informed criticisms and engaging in constructive political dialogue.
He also extended his condolences to the families of the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Edwin Clarke, two figures he described as personal friends and political associates, expressing that their deaths were a significant loss to the entire nation.
Yakassai’s commendation for Tinubu comes at a time when a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, is seeking to galvanise opposition to unseat Tinubu in 2027.
El-Rufai, who recently dumped the ruling APC for the Social Democratic Party, at the weekend called on prominent opposition figures to come together to stop Tinubu from getting a second-term re-election come 2027.
He invited former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola to join him in his new political home.
However, in an interview with the BBC Hausa on Sunday, a former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, rejected El-Rufai’s call.
Lamido, a stalwart of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, said, “The PDP is the party that nurtured El-Rufai’s political career. You are not enough to make us leave the PDP,” Lamido remarked.
He criticised El-Rufai’s leadership and his previous claim that there were no “adults” in Nigerian politics, suggesting that El-Rufai’s recent call contradicted his earlier statements.
Lamido further questioned El-Rufai’s motives for leaving the APC and joining the SDP, asserting, “If I was going to leave the PDP, I would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed.”
He stressed that leadership required patience and vision rather than anger or self-interest.
Meanwhile, an APC chieftain in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said on Sunday that the amount of gang-up would stop President Bola Tinubu’s reelection in 2027.
In a statement on Sunday, Oyintiloye, a former member of the Osun State House of Assembly, insisted that it would be a grave mistake for anyone to think that the defection of the “so-called APC members” would stop Tinubu’s reelection.
He said, “Leave it or take, no amount of political gang-up can stop the re-election of President Tinubu in 2027. Those who are gathering against him ahead of the general elections should try and study the kind of person the President is.
“He has the winning strategy, and he is raising men and women of goodwill across Nigeria. His achievements, political sagacity, and love for the country will speak for him now and in the future.”
