Ndume was the Director-General of the Rotimi Amaechi Presidential campaign in 2022.
By Kehinde Okeowo
The senator representing Borno South senatorial district, Ali Ndume, has opened up on the possible cause of the rift between former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai and President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview on Arise TV, the federal lawmaker backed claims by El-Rufai that he worked to enthrone Tinubu as president.
According to Ndume, who was the Director-General of the Rotimi Amaechi Presidential campaign, El-Rufai was in Amaechi camp but suddenly shifted his allegiance to Tinubu prior to the primary election.
He went on to suggest that the refusal of the president to reward his efforts might be part of El-Rufai’s frustration with Tinubu.
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Ndume said, “El-Rufai was supposed to be on our side but somehow, he moved over. And I think these are part of the things that are annoying or frustrating him.
“He was on our side. Amaechi’s side. Before Tinubu was nominated, he made up his mind to support Tinubu, and Tinubu, as he rightly said, said that he should not leave and that he should come on board, join the government.
“So since then, I’ve not been that [close to El-Rufai] because he abandoned our group. He was on our side but went to support Tinubu fully. You know, he really mobilized. He did a lot of things. Tinubu asked him to join the government but somehow, up till now, I don’t understand what happened [El-Rufai and Tinubu] but that is not my business.
“But sometimes, I’ll say, ‘okay o, you did that to us, it’s payback to yourself’. But, I cannot understand, I was the Chief Whip. El-Rufai came to the chamber [for ministerial screening] and we almost like told him to take a bow and go…”
Recall that during Amaechi’s consultation visit to Kaduna State in 2022, El-Rufai publicly declared to work with the former Rivers governor but later changed his mind after Tinubu made a similar visit.
The president later nominated El-Rufai for a ministerial appointment but the ex-governor was rejected by lawmakers.
He is now a leading member of the anti-Tinubu coalition after he dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
