In a statement capable of sending ripples through Nigeria’s political landscape, Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that no politician in Nigeria is immune to being voted out of office.
The statement appears to be a veiled attack on President Bola Tinubu and his administration.
Bashir took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to declare that the removal of any politician, no matter how influential, from office will happen without repercussions.
He urged Nigerians to remain patient and disregard intimidation tactics, stating, “Nobody is too big to be elected out of office by the people. It will happen & wallahi nothing will happen. So forget all these intimidations flying up and down. Let us be patient.”
Bashir’s subsequent statement further suggested that he was indeed referring to President Tinubu whom some predict has fallen out of favour with some northern elites.
He added, “Even IMF & World Bank no go save una that time. Political strategist una. That one na for Lagos [State].” The comment has been interpreted as a direct challenge to President Tinubu’s political stronghold where he served two terms as governor.
While not mentioning any names directly, El-Rufai made it clear that his message was aimed at those guilty of poor governance.
He stated, “Wallahi, none of you will force anyone to support this utter failure of governance disguised as useless, dangerous ethnocentric political strategy.”
NewsNGR reports that Bashir’s stance comes on the backdrop of alleged betrayals within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Segun Showunmi, a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had earlier accused President Tinubu of betraying key APC leaders who supported his 2023 election bid.
Showunmi pointed to the cases of Nasir El-Rufai, whose ministerial nomination by the president was rejected by the Senate, and Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, who is currently facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).