Former Kaduna State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Nasir El-Rufai, has predicted that President Bola Tinubu will suffer a major electoral setback in 2027, saying the President is unlikely to advance beyond the first round of voting.
Speaking on Channels Television on Sunday, El-Rufai said Tinubu should learn from the defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan by Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. He argued that the administration’s economic policies have worsened poverty, with “30 million more Nigerians” falling below the poverty line in the last two years.
“The worst-case scenario in 2027 is that no winner will emerge in the first round, but Tinubu will not be on the ballot for the runoff. At best, he will come third. He has no pathway to win,” El-Rufai said.
El-Rufai, whose ministerial nomination was rejected by the National Assembly in 2023, insisted he never sought a cabinet position under Tinubu. “I would have probably resigned if I was a minister. I had no desire to be one,” he said.
He further accused Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, of orchestrating violence during the inauguration of the ADC’s state committee at the weekend, claiming he had evidence to present to the Inspector General of Police. Although instrumental to Sani’s election in 2023, El-Rufai said the governor “was never my friend… he was my boy, my mentee.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) dismissed El-Rufai’s allegation that it coordinates payments and inducements to bandits. In a statement signed by Zakari Mijinyawa, ONSA described the claim as “baseless,” insisting that the government has never engaged in ransom payments.
The statement, issued on behalf of NSA Nuhu Ribadu, said the administration’s dual approach of military operations and community engagement had restored relative peace to parts of Kaduna once terrorised by bandits. It added that notorious kingpins such as Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari, and Boka had been eliminated, while Ansaru leaders were recently arrested.
“For a former governor to deny the sacrifices of our security forces on national television is unfair and insulting to the memories of personnel who paid the supreme price,” ONSA stated, urging politicians to avoid dragging security institutions into partisan disputes.
