I warned El-Rufai to go into exile — Galadima
A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima, has said he warned former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai to go into exile after the latter fell with President Bola Tinubu.
Galadima stated this during a recent interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, where he also accused President Tinubu and his allies of turning their backs despite El-Rufai’s role in Tinubu’s emergence as APC presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 election.
“Tinubu and his people are ingrates as far as El-Rufai is concerned. I’m not the best friend of El-Rufai. In fact, I advised him that he should be careful of the way he carries himself, that he either goes on exile or they will jail him,” he said.
The NDC chieftain said he had raised concerns about El-Rufai’s situation during interviews with the BBC and Nigerian television stations.
According to Galadima, he also approached former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and urged him to persuade El-Rufai against returning to Nigeria after the former Kaduna governor disclosed plans to come back from Egypt.
“I went and met Kwankwaso and told Kwankwaso that he should beg El-Rufai not to come back. These people do not mean well to him,” Galadima said.
He said Kwankwaso subsequently contacted El-Rufai, who initially shifted his return date but later announced a new date and eventually returned to Nigeria.
Galadima described El-Rufai’s decision to return as courageous, considering what he portrayed as the APC’s determination to remain in power.
He further alleged that the ruling party could deploy any means necessary to retain power because its leaders were aware of the consequences of losing control of government.
“The desperation with which the APC is going, they can do anything under the sun to come back to power, because they know what it entails if they lose power; what they have done to people will visit them,” he said.
