A former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has fired back at the Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication, Daniel Bwala, and the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, over a ministerial appointment.

Bwala had, in a recent post on his verified X handle, accused El-Rufai of planning to unseat the government of President Bola Tinubu.

On the other hand, Basiru, while featuring on TVC on Wednesday, said it wasn’t the birthright of El-Rufai to be made a minister.

Responding in a post on his verified X handle on Thursday, El-Rufai stated that he had made it clear to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that he was not interested in any position in his future government.

He stressed that the pathetic manner in which those he referred to as “latter-day converts” to the Tinubu government made an issue of something he never wanted in the first place was a reflection of the level of their moral flexibility.

El-Rufai added that if he had remained in the Tinubu government, he would say or do the same regarding the tragedy within a party he helped to found and the government that emerged from it—first in private sessions with those concerned, and then publicly if no remedial actions were taken.

He said: “Good morning, @BwalaDaniel. I was a cabinet minister 22 years ago, and I was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government.

“The pathetic manner in which all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.

“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I would say or do the same regarding the tragedy within a party I helped to found and the government that emerged from it—first in private sessions with those concerned, and then publicly if no remedial actions were taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.

“I am only responding to you because I still think you are a decent person who may need a job, and not in the class of Wendell Simlin and that Kaduna pretender whom our voters retired in 2019—these clowns are political mercenaries who receive humongous monthly stipends from the security vote to be the first to jump on X and other platforms to defend everything the Asiwaju government does or fails to do, no matter how indefensible it may be.

“Enjoy your Special Adviser position, my brother, but remember that allegiance to God and country comes first in the human scale of accountability, before any person or authority.” – @elrufai

The exchange of words between former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, over the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the current administration has continued.

Bwala expressed his respect and admiration for El-Rufai’s brilliance, advising the former governor to “come home because he has toiled all nights.”

In a post on his X handle on Thursday, Bwala, a new convert to the APC, said his concern over El-Rufai’s statements and actions is that they are not borne out of patriotism but rather a need for vengeance.

“Still my senior brother @elrufai, I am sure you don’t need anyone to tell you about my respect and admiration for you, not just for your brilliance, but also as one of the brightest we have from the northern extraction. I am not stating it for the first time today, and you know that.

“My worry, however, is the motive behind your statements and actions; they are not borne out of patriotism but a need for vengeance. The opposition sees that singular element of vengeance as a veritable tool for your recruitment.

“With respect, I am not a latter-day Asiwaju supporter. We both played our roles in his emergence as the candidate of the party ahead of the 2023 elections. And before then, whilst you were from the CPC extraction of the APC, I was from the ACN, which explains why I worked with Comrade Oshiomhole when he chaired the party, amongst other things, to protect the interest of Asiwaju, whom at the time you people vowed to retire from politics.

“I still think you don’t need all these melodramatic activities or a vengeance mission. Come back and resolve whatever you think are your grievances like the dignified man that you are.

“Our party, APC, as of today remains the only organized party with identifiable structures across the country. So if you are looking for any symbol of democracy, it is still in your party.

“Please, senior, come home; you have toiled all nights.”

The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, has issued a riposte to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala.

Gatekeeper recalls that El-Rufai had criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, for straying away from its core values, adding that he no longer recognises his own political party.

“I am a founding member of the APC. But frankly, I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years — no caucus, no NEC, nothing. I don’t even know if it is a one-man show. It is a zero-man show,” el-Rufai said at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, which was held in Abuja.

Responding to El-Rufai’s outburst, Bwala asked the ex-minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) if his take on the APC would have been different had he been a member of Tinubu’s cabinet.

Recall that on August 7, 2023, the Senate withheld el-Rufai’s clearance as minister over security issues.

In his response to Bwala in a post on X on Thursday, El-Rufai said, “The pathetic manner in which all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.

“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I would have said or done the same on the tragedy within a party I founded, and the government that emerged from it — first in private sessions with those concerned, and then go public if no remedial actions are taken,” the APC chieftain added.