Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s political trajectory, warning that President Bola Tinubu risks following the path of Cameroon’s long-serving leader, Paul Biya.
El-Rufai cautioned that unless Nigerians take decisive steps in the 2027 elections, Tinubu could entrench himself in power in a manner similar to Biya’s decades-long rule.
Speaking while hosting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at his residence, who visited to commiserate with him over last month’s attack during the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai described the Tinubu administration as “a disgrace to democratic ideals.”
He accused the APC-led government of centralising power rather than strengthening federalism.
“Honestly sir, to me, it is even a disgrace. I mean, for people to behave the way they are behaving, it means that all the years of saying that we are for democracy and NADECO, all the claims that we are fighting for true federalism and so on, it was all a pretense, all fake again. Because this government (Tinubu’s administration) is trying to centralize everything instead of devolving power to the lower levels.”
“The sum total of this is that we are facing an evil of such a large proportion in the history of this country that if we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,” El-Rufai said.
He further claimed that the Tinubu administration poses a greater danger to Nigeria’s democratic system than any past military government.
