Daniel Bwala, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communications, warned Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, on Thursday after calling him a “latter-day convert.”
The former governor, a prominent member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, has recently made headlines for criticizing the party for lacking active party structures and internal democracy.
“I don’t recognize the APC anymore. No caucus, no NEC, no party organ has convened in the past two years. At a national summit on bolstering Nigerian democracy in Abuja on Monday, El-Rufai declared, “You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it’s a zero-man show.”
Bwala had previously asked El-Rufai if he would stick to his statements if he were working for the Tinubu administration, and the former governor had agreed.
El-Rufai responded to Bwala’s post on Thursday by stating in a sequence of tweets sent from his X profile that he had no interest in working for the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“I made it quite evident to Asiwaju during my 22 years as cabinet minister that I had no interest in holding any role in his future administration. He tweeted, among other things, “It may be a reflection of your moral flexibility that all of you late converts to the Tinubu regime make such a fuss over something I never wanted in the first place.
Bwala, however, issued a warning in response to the tweets, stating that he and the former Kaduna governor played a key role in Tinubu’s rise to prominence as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
“With all due respect, I do not endorse modern-day Asiwaju. Both of us contributed to his rise to prominence as the party’s nominee in the run-up to the 2023 elections. And prior to that, I was from the ACN, whereas you were from the CPC extraction of the APC. This is why, among other things, I collaborated with Comrade Oshiomhole when he chaired the party to safeguard the interests of Asiwaju, who at the time you all pledged to leave politics, Bwala said.
The president’s spokesperson expressed his admiration for the APC leader and expressed concern over El-Rufai’s “statements and actions,” stating that they are motivated by a desire for vengeance rather than patriotism. The opposition views that one aspect of retribution as a real recruiting tool.
“I continue to believe that you don’t need a revenge quest or all these melodramatic activities. As the respectable man that you are, return and settle whatever you believe to be your grievances.
“As of right now, the APC is the only organized party in the nation with recognizable institutions. Therefore, your party still has the democratic emblem you seek. Come home, please, senior; you worked all night.
Bwala, a spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council, denied pushing to serve in the current APC government in an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today show in November 2024.
“I didn’t lobby,” I said. When I saw the President the last time I was here, I informed you that I had decided to back his cause.
“I have been assiduously working toward that goal ever since I made an appearance on your program in January. Perhaps he recognized the commitment in it as well as that. However, the President is aware that I have enjoyed it and continue to adore it because I backed him throughout the primaries.
It is unknown to me what his consideration was. However, I am aware that I am extremely appreciative of the honor the President gave me. Additionally, I’m determined not to let the Nigerian people and Mr. President down.
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