By Asuquo Cletus
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu administration by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, as “mischievous, baseless, and the rant of a sulking politician.”
El-Rufai had accused the Tinubu-led administration of incompetence, clannishness, and lacking the credibility to seek a second term. He claimed that Nigeria had witnessed a decline in governance since Tinubu took office in 2023.
In a statement released yesterday by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the party accused El-Rufai of attempting to derail the nation’s progress for personal political gain following his failed ministerial nomination in 2023.
“El-Rufai’s speedy descent from a respected public official to a political clown is one that deserves forensic study,” Morka said, while reacting to comments reportedly made by the former governor at a meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Sokoto on Saturday, August 2.
The APC also claimed that the remarks, claiming stem from bitterness and political frustration.
“El-Rufai’s claims are as mischievous as they are hollow. With a steady rebound in our economy, revolution in agriculture, improved power generation, and unprecedented infrastructural development, his verdict of ‘poor governance’ falls flat,” Morka stated.
The statement highlighted several achievements of the current administration, including increased oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day, consistent trade surpluses, the retooling of military capabilities with 49 new aircraft, and the introduction of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The APC also accused El-Rufai and his political allies in the ADC of attempting to destabilize the nation’s zoning and rotational presidency arrangement by allegedly plotting to impose former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate in 2027.
“It was Atiku’s refusal to respect the rotation principle that led to the PDP’s near collapse in 2023. El-Rufai and Atiku now want to do to Nigeria what Atiku did to the PDP,” the APC claimed.
While defending Tinubu’s controversial removal of fuel subsidy and harmonization of exchange rates, the party challenged opposition figures to present viable alternatives rather than criticize policies they once championed.
“Why haven’t El-Rufai and his cohorts proposed a return to the era of subsidy and fixed naira value, and explained how they would fund the deficits that would follow?” Morka queried.
The party further described President Tinubu as “one of the most detribalized Nigerians alive,” rejecting accusations of clannishness and ethnic bias in appointments.
The statement concluded by expressing confidence in Tinubu’s re-election chances in 2027, calling his first-term record “the most outstanding in the country’s democratic history.”
