Niger APC chieftain blasts El-Rufai over Tinubu ‘Life President’ remark

An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Niger State, Jonathan Vatsa, has criticised El-Rufai, the former Kaduna State governor. Vatsa’s comments come after El-Rufai’s recent allegation that President Bola Tinubu would become a “life president” if re-elected in 2027. In an interview in Minna, Jonathan Vatsa criticises El-Rufai, calling him a “wounded lion.” Vatsa believes El-Rufai has lost his political relevance. He attributed the comments to El-Rufai’s disappointment at not being named in Tinubu’s cabinet.

The APC chieftain criticized El-Rufai’s time as governor of Kaduna State. He stated that El-Rufai’s tenure saw increased ethnic and religious divisions. The former Commissioner for Information said, “The whole world saw how El-Rufai unleashed bandits and terrorists against the southern Kaduna people for eight years.” He added that “blood flowed freely in Kaduna State” under El-Rufai’s watch.

Vatsa insisted that any political party El-Rufai joins will lose. This applies to both Kaduna State and the country in general. He said El-Rufai “misruled the state and the people have not forgiven him.”

Vatsa argued that El-Rufai’s past actions have made him politically irrelevant. He pointed out that the APC lost the last presidential election in Kaduna State, even with El-Rufai’s leadership. “I want to advise El-Rufai to retire from politics quietly,” Vatsa said. “His continued involvement will yield nothing.”

He also dismissed concerns about President Tinubu’s potential re-election bid. Vatsa said this is based on an agreement for the South to complete an eight-year term. Power would then return to the North in 2031.