By Eshiorameh Sebastian, Abuja
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that President Bola Tinubu will not survive beyond the 2027 general elections, citing what he claims is a catastrophic decline in public approval for the administration.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News Prime Time in Abuja, El-Rufai revealed that internal polling conducted across the country showed overwhelming dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s leadership.
“We have done some polling in many parts of the country, particularly in the southeast and the north, President Tinubu has a 91% disapproval rating, even in Lagos he has a 78% disapproval rating. There is nowhere he is doing better than 50%. The guy is gone,” El-Rufai said.
The former governor, who claimed that he was instrumental in Tinubu’s rise to power in 2023, expressed deep regret for his role in the process, admitting that the current government had failed to meet expectations. “I just feel like I contributed to this country’s problems by bringing the evil Tinubu into power. I should do the last lap by removing Tinubu,” he stated.
El-Rufai, who officially left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in March, disclosed that he is now working with opposition leaders to form a broad coalition aimed at ousting Tinubu in the next election. He described the movement as an alliance of disenchanted politicians, including supporters of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and even former ministers from ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.
“Parties are not involved in this movement. Everybody has their group, there is a group drawn from Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi has his group, and former Buhari ministers have their groups. I am not representing SDP, that’s how this coalition is formed,” he explained.
He further hinted that the coalition might eventually crystallize into a single political party if necessary. “But if there is a need to form a political party, we will leave our groups and join a political party. This is why we feel encouraged by the party of the coalition. We are all like-minded. It is about fixing the country. Nobody is talking about his ambition. It is that Nigeria is ruled by urban bandits, so we want to drive them away and fix this country.”
El-Rufai likened the current political realignment to the coalition that unseated former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. “The reason why the Jonathan coalition came up was because, first, the feeling that Jonathan was not ruling the country very well; secondly, Jonathan was not sure of competing in the 2015 election, so he had a problem within his party; third was the need for all of us from the smaller parties to come together owing to the first reason,” he said.
In a rare moment of self-reflection, the former governor cautioned Nigerians against placing blind faith in his political endorsements. “Don’t trust what I say. It seems like I’m not good at picking political candidates. Don’t trust what I say. Check if the person I pick will be better than the previous person.”
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