Bayo Onanuga
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, was wide of the mark in his recent remarks on the presidency.
On Saturday, el-Rufai warned that Tinubu could attempt to cling to power like Cameroon’s Paul Biya if Nigerians fail to unite against him in the 2027 elections.
Biya, 92, has been in power since 1982, and recently said he will seek re-election in October in a bid to extend his 43 years on the saddle.
In a post on X on Sunday, Onanuga said el-Rufai has been making “unfounded claims and speculations” about Tinubu.
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He said el-Rufai seems to have realised the futility of the attempts by his associates in his new party to stop Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Onanuga said the “plot is proving to be unattainable” and is “a mission doomed to fail”.
He added that el-Rufai was unsettled by the “grand reception” Tinubu received during his visit to Kaduna last Friday.
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According to him, the show of support contradicted el-Rufai’s claim that the north has abandoned the president.
“Instead, he resorted to spreading further unfounded stories, including the claim that President Tinubu intends to become a ‘life president’ after 2027 — a speculation that is baseless and absurd,” Onanuga wrote.
“President Tinubu is a democrat who does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027.”
Onanuga said Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, may need to reach out to el-Rufai.
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“El-Rufai could benefit from some professional counselling to steer him away from his recent hallucinations and political fabrications on Tinubu and 2027,” he added.
