A group under the aegis of the Coalition of Gbagyi Nationality in Kaduna State has blasted the former Kaduna governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, over what it described as unwarranted attacks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Addressing a press conference on Monday in Kaduna, the leader of the Coalition, Benjamin Chayinta George, alleged that since El-Rufai failed to secure a ministerial appointment in the current administration, he has continued to express grievances through verbal assaults on the presidency.
According to George, the former governor’s criticisms of Tinubu stem from personal disappointment, not national interest.
“We discovered that since Former Governor Mal. Nasir El-Rufai lost his ministerial appointment in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet; he has remained inconsolable, unleashing verbal attacks on Tinubu’s administration,” George said.
“This was someone who destroyed our houses without any regard for the emotional or economic plight of the affected persons. He marginalised our people, sidelined us in governance, and denied us access to appointments and developmental projects.”
He further accused the former governor of ordering the demolition of market stalls, failing to address the issue of banditry in the state, and violating the rights of innocent citizens, including journalists.
He warned that El-Rufai’s recent moves to allegedly mobilise a political coalition to unseat President Tinubu in 2027 under the guise of public interest were a personal vendetta.
“It is very clear that his current move to mobilise politicians he had despised in the past, to unseat President Tinubu in 2027 as a revenge for losing ministerial position, is dead on arrival”.
George called on Nigerians to be wary of what they termed “El-Rufai’s deceitful tactics,” stating that his capitalist style of governance was never in favour of the poor and downtrodden.
He further pledged their full support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, insisting that both leaders are currently tackling the problems inherited from previous administrations.
“To this end, we have decided not to keep quiet and to tell the world categorically that the Gbagyi nation and the Middle Belt will never be part of any coalition orchestrated by Mal. Nasir El-Rufai and his cohorts against President Tinubu,” George declared.
However, he urged well-meaning Nigerians to disregard what he described as “El-Rufai’s utopian postulations and selfish machinations” while expressing optimism that Tinubu’s government would succeed.
