Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has dropped yet another bombshell in buildup to the 2023 elections.

The governor, who has been outspoken, especially regarding the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), caught the headlines when he said some “Villa elements” were working against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the governor said he no longer believes in the quality of leadership around President Muhammadu Buhari.

The leading digital platform shared a snippet of the interview on its Twitter handle on Sunday.

“I believe in Buhari, I still do and I will never stop, but I no longer believe in the circle around him and the quality of decisions and actions coming out of that leadership,” El-Rufai said.

When he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme earlier in the month, El-Rufai had said persons who backed a different aspirant in the APC presidential primaries are now hiding behind President Buhari to pursue their interests.

“I believe there are elements in the villa who want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.

“They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right,” he had said.

Aisha, wife of the president backed El-Rufa’i over his claim that some elements in the presidency are plotting to sabotage Tinubu’s victory.

The first lady, who wields great influence in the Villa, voiced her support for El-Rufai when she shared a clip of the interview containing the governor’s main allegation against the saboteurs who are non-members of the party and are exploiting the president’s goodwill for their selfish ends.(Courtesy, excluding headline, Daily Trust)

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