Ex-Governor El-Rufai’s Son Sends Cryptic Message to President Tinubu: IMF, World Bank Won’t Save You

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, issued a stark warning to President Bola Tinubu, suggesting that no institution, local or international, could prevent the government from being voted out of office. Bashir’s comments were made in a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, hinting at growing political tensions.

Bashir tweeted, “Nobody is too big to be elected out of office by the people. It will happen & wallahi nothing will happen. So forget all these intimidations flying up and down. Let us be patient. Even IMF & World Bank no go save una that time. Political strategist una. That one na for Lagos.”

Without directly naming individuals, Bashir added, “I didn’t call names o, but due to their guilt, they already know who is being spoken about. Wallahi, none of you will force anyone to support this utter failure of governance disguised as useless, dangerous ethnocentric political strategy.”

The comments come amid strained relations between President Tinubu and Nasir El-Rufai, once a staunch supporter during the 2023 general election. The fallout began when El-Rufai’s name was excluded from the ministerial list, causing a rift.

Compounding the situation, Uba Sani, El-Rufai’s successor as Kaduna State Governor, has publicly lamented the substantial debt inherited from the previous administration. In a Town Hall Meeting in March, Sani revealed that the state inherited $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contract liabilities from El-Rufai’s tenure. He noted that the rising exchange rates have significantly increased the repayment burden on the state’s Federal Allocation. Despite the financial strain, Sani stated he had not borrowed any additional funds in the last nine months.