Solomon Dalung, former Minister of Youths and Sports, has stated that President Bola Tinubu is terrified of Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State.
Dalung, who served as Minister under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, revealed that Tinubu is El-Rufai’s invention, which is why the president fears him the most.
In an interview with Mic on Podcast, the former minister described how El-Rufai battled for Tinubu to become President of Nigeria.
He stated that there is an intentional endeavour to keep El-Rufai detained till after 2027.
Dalung stated, “There is a deliberate plan to keep him detained till this transition is completed because El-Rufai is the person Bola Tinubu fears the most.
“And why am I saying this?” Without El-Rufai, Tinubu would not have been acceptable in the North in 2023.
He began the presidential campaign by going to the South, and when Buhari told people to vote Ahmed Lawan, El-Rufai, who knew Buhari well enough to know that if confronted with something like that, he would deny it, mobilised Northern governors to Buhari and said he heard we should vote Lawan, but Buhari said no, I’m a Democrat, let people choose.
“He came back and mobilised the governors to support Tinubu; without El-Rufai, Tinubu would not have won in 2023.” He was everywhere.
“He was also his campaign director. He was in Chatham House, speaking on his behalf.
“Tinubu was fully aware of el-Rufai’s capacity, and the most they could do was keep him confined, alternating between courts. They will continue to do this and give bail.
“Before we know it, we’ll have 10 or 15 bail applications granted, none of the conditions can be met until after 2027.”