Former Kaduna State governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, has claimed that politicians paid money to secure ministerial positions in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. El-Rufai made this statement during an interview with BBC Hausa in Kaduna.
During the interview, El-Rufai revealed that he had informed former President Muhammadu Buhari before deciding to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) and join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He explained that he never made political moves without first seeking Buhari’s advice and approval.
He noted that the APC had strayed from its founding principles, with many members now focused on personal gain. “The APC has derailed, the party is no longer abiding by its founding principles. Everyone is working for himself, looking for money. The government is commercialized, everything has a price tag,” he said.
The former governor expressed his dissatisfaction with how party loyalists were treated. He noted that those who contributed to APC’s success were ignored when it came to appointments, while individuals from Lagos were favored. He added that this was one of the reasons he chose to leave the party, stating that it no longer represented the values it once stood for.
El-Rufai also disclosed that before leaving the APC, he consulted Pastor Tunde Bakare, the person who first introduced him to the party. He then informed Buhari, who, according to him, gave his blessings and prayers for his departure. “Buhari too, I told him I was leaving the party, I sought his blessings and prayers. He said he has given me his blessings and prayers,” he stated.
When asked if he left the party to avoid being expelled, El-Rufai rejected that claim. He insisted that he was marginalized and sidelined within the APC, which made him feel unwanted. “I did not leave the party, it’s the party that dumped me,” he said.
Addressing claims that he left because he was not given a ministerial position, El-Rufai dismissed the idea, instead revealing that some individuals paid money to be appointed ministers. “I know those who even paid money to be appointed as ministers,” he stated.
He also mentioned that President Tinubu personally requested him to join the cabinet, specifically to help solve the country’s power problems. “He said he would like to be the President that would finally resolve the power problem and he begged me to come and help him achieve that,” he explained.
