The Presidency has dismissed recent remarks by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, describing them as the desperate outburst of a man unsettled by President Bola Tinubu’s growing political profile.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Monday, accused El-Rufai of “hallucinating” and in need of help, following the ex-governor’s claim that Tinubu could attempt to remain in power for life if not voted out in 2027.
Onanuga argued that El-Rufai’s comments were yet another failed attempt to discredit the President, insisting that Northerners and Nigerians at large continued to demonstrate overwhelming support for Tinubu—contrary to El-Rufai’s narrative of regional abandonment.
He stressed that President Tinubu remains a committed democrat with no ambition beyond the constitutionally permitted two terms, dismissing El-Rufai’s claim as “baseless and absurd.”
“El-Rufai has clearly realised the futility of attempts by his allies in his new party to block President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. His suggestion that Tinubu wants to become a life president is unfounded and laughable,” Onanuga said.
The presidential aide added that Tinubu’s grand reception in Kaduna last Friday was proof of his strong northern backing, while advising Governor Uba Sani to reach out to his predecessor, who, he suggested, “may require professional counselling to steer him away from his recent hallucinations and political fabrications.”
