The Presidency claimed it was a contradiction for Mr El-Rufai to admit that four years was inadequate for political office holders to make meaningful changes in government despite joining the ADC coalition seeking Bola Tinubu’s removal after just two years in office.
The Presidency has slammed a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, for admitting that four years was inadequate for political office holders to “make meaningful changes” in government.
How it started
Mr El-Rufai, while speaking on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics, said four years was not enough for political office holders to make meaningful changes in government.
The former governor of Kaduna State was reacting to statements made by the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and a former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who separately pledged that they would serve for a single four-year term if elected Nigeria’s president in 2027.
While Mr Obi served as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, Mr Amaechi was the governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015.
Mr El-Rufai was the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, having served in the office from 2015 to 2023.
The trio are all members of the National Opposition Coalition Group, which adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for the 2027 general election.
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ADC is seeking to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming election.
‘It’s contradiction’
But Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to President Tinubu on media and strategy, criticised Mr El-Rufai for admitting that four years was inadequate for political office holders to make meaningful changes in government despite joining the ADC coalition seeking Mr Tinubu’s removal after just two years in office.
“Nasir El-Rufai confesses here (referring to a video clip) that four years is not enough for a political office holder to make ‘meaningful changes’.
“Yet he is at the forefront of the gang of political desperados plotting President Tinubu’s ouster, just two years into his tenure. What a contradiction!” Mr Onanuga wrote on his X handle on Monday.
The presidential aide also reposted on the microblogging platform a video clip which showed Mr El-Rufai making the comments on the TV programme.
He argued that President Tinubu and his team had “implemented meaningful changes” in Nigeria in the past two years better than what Messrs Obi, Amaechi and El-Rufai did as governors in their states.
“The positive indicators are all there for the world to see – for example, increased foreign reserves, the highest in 44 months.
“Phenomenal wealth creation in the stock market has seen ASI skyrocket from 53,000 points to over 140,000 points. Over N26 trillion in additional wealth has been created in the market under Tinubu’s watch.
“The exchange rate has been harmonised, and arbitrage eliminated. Investment inflow has increased,” Mr Onanuga claimed.
“The inflation rate has decreased in four successive months. GDP has grown by N103.5 trillion in two years.”
The presidential spokesperson claimed, under Mr Tinubu’s administration, states and local governments were now receiving more funds from the central government which enabled them to embark on capital projects.
“Yet, these power-hungry politicians want the president, who has achieved so much, to be removed, all because they have become politically displaced and irrelevant,” he claimed.
What data say
Gross external reserves climbed to $40.19 billion at the end of 2024, up from $33.22 billion in 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Like the reserves, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate eased to 22.97 per cent in May from 23.71 per cent in April 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
