The Presidency has accused former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of plotting to unseat President Bola Tinubu.

El-Rufai, who was one of the speakers at the national conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria held in Abuja on Monday, lambasted the All Progressives Congress (APC) for failing to fulfil its promises to citizens.

He hinged his attacks on the party?s leaders on his determination to force them to change.

When asked if he was abandoning the party he helped in forming and nurturing, the immediate past Kaduna governor replied: ?I am not leaving the APC. I don?t have such plans. No, no, no, I only want them to change.?

While describing the state of governance and opposition in the country as a ?national emergency?, he blamed the problem of democracy in the country on the illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people in the positions of leadership.

?I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years?no caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don?t even know if it is a one-man show; it?s a zero-man show.

?You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today.?

He reflected on the party?s foundation, noting that the APC was originally established to combat corruption, rebuild the economy, and enhance security. He argued that the goals have been abandoned.

?The problems that led to the creation of the APC remain unresolved, but I no longer believe the APC is interested in addressing them. The distance between me and the party is widening.?

Mallam el-Rufai also urged opposition parties to unite and form a broad coalition to challenge the ruling party and protect democracy.

?There are internal mercenaries in the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party. The Labour Party is also facing similar issues.

?Peter Obi himself told me, ?I don?t know what?s happening in the party I contested with. There seems to be a deliberate project to destroy opposition parties.?

Citing a poll revealing that 75 per cent of registered voters might abstain from the 2027 elections, el-Rufai warned of an impending crisis.

?This is dangerous. For those of us who lived under military rule, we know what it is. We don?t want military rule, but we also don?t want civilians behaving like the military in their babanriga and suits,? he said.

Reacting, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, accused the former Kaduna governor of planning to unseat the government he helped form.

On his X handle, Bwala questioned if El-Rufai would have made the same statements were he in the government?s cabinet.

?My Senior brother, if you were in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in forming, that you now want to unseat,? Bwala said.

The former lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial zone, Shehu Sani also hit El-Rufai over his comment.

According to Sani, El-Rufai in power practised tyranny but out of power preaches democracy.

?The man with a history of undisguised intolerance to the opposition and hypersensitive allergy to criticisms have no moral and saintly feet to stand on the pulpit of democracy to preach about good governance,? he said in a telephone interview.

He described El-Rufai as a man who has resorted to speaking ill of a woman because she turned him down.

?If Nasiru is in a Keke NAPEP, he will call it a Lamborghini; if he is thrown out of the Lamborghini, he will call it a Keke NAPEP.

?He demonised the opposition when in the palace and he is now embracing them when in the wilderness. Today, Tinubu?s government is led by illiterates because they refused to hire Professor Nasiru, who left behind a heap of garbage in Kaduna and is now preaching hygiene in Nigeria.?

The immediate past national spokesperson of the PDP, Kola Ologbodiyan, however, told Daily Sun that El-Rufai?s comments were not far from the truth. He believes the ruling party is fomenting trouble in the PDP and LP to weaken them.

?What is happening at the national level is the Lagos State playbook. The APC wants to ensure that no opposition party presents a formidable candidate at the national level, which is why they are deliberately fomenting trouble everywhere.

?I agree with El-Rufai that the only way the APC can be defeated is by having a strong coalition of opposition parties,? he said. (Daily Sun)

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