…Says Tinubu’ll crash out in 2027
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i, has defended his support for the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election, describing it as a purely political strategy — while at the same time predicting that President Bola Tinubu will fare poorly in the 2027 polls.
Speaking on a television programme on Sunday, el-Rufai said the pairing of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima had “nothing to do with religion”, but was designed solely to secure electoral victory.
According to him, “It was a political strategy; it was a strategy to win the election. It was not a religious strategy”. “When you are contesting an election, you look at every variable, every index, every criterion that will help you win. It has nothing to do with religion”, ge added.
El-Rufa’i, who had previously run a Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna, argued that fears of marginalisation were unfounded. “Tell me, in what way are Christians short-changed? None. No leader that wants to succeed will limit appointments to a particular religion or ethnicity. If you want to succeed, you must diversify”, he said.
But while justifying the 2023 strategy, the former governor was dismissive of Tinubu’s chances in 2027. He claimed that, based on his calculations, Tinubu would not even make the runoff.
According to the ex-governor, “I was one of Bola Tinubu’s biggest campaigners, but I couldn’t deliver Kaduna to him. Bola Tinubu himself couldn’t win his state with his own governor in place”.
“The worst-case scenario in 2027 is that no winner will emerge in the first round. If there is a runoff, Tinubu will not be on the ballot because he will, at best, place third”, he stated.
El-Rufa’i added that Tinubu’s reliance on state power and resources would not secure victory, likening his situation to that of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. “He may think: ‘I have money, I have INEC, I have the Police, I have the Army. Well, Jonathan had all of that in 2015 — and we got him out”, he noted.
Recall that the APC’s 2023 decision to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket sparked backlash from Christian groups, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), who branded it insensitive. Despite the controversy, Tinubu won the election with 8.79 million votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
