Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has thrown jabs at a former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, over his political troubles with President Bola Tinubu, suggesting El-Rufai is now suffering the consequences of abandoning a former minister, Rotimi Amaechi.
At the same time, Ndume warned that if Tinubu fails to address Nigeria’s challenges, he too may dump the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker, who was the Director-General of the Rotimi Amaechi Presidential Campaign, spoke during an appearance on Arise News on Tuesday.
He used the platform to both criticise the current administration and reflect on the fallout between El-Rufai and Tinubu.
Ndume openly expressed discontent with the state of governance under Tinubu, warning that unresolved national issues could force him to leave the APC.
He declared, “If I decide to leave the APC, I will not hide it.
“I still believe President Tinubu can fix things. Failure to fix those things may cause me to leave the APC.”
He also cautioned against unchecked defections to the ruling party, saying the APC risks collapse if overloaded with political interests.
“If Tinubu continues this way, it doesn’t matter if he loads more people or governors, you are just endangering the APC.
“When you overload a ship, it might lead to the capsizing of the party,” he said.
Turning to El-Rufai, Ndume appeared to relish the former governor’s recent political woes.
He recalled how El-Rufai initially pledged support for Amaechi during the APC presidential primaries, only to switch camps and fully back Tinubu.
“El-Rufai was supposed to be on our side but somehow, he moved over.
“I think these are part of the things that are annoying or frustrating him,” he said.
He added, “He was on our side. Amaechi’s side. Before Tinubu was nominated, he made up his mind to support Tinubu, and Tinubu, as he rightly said, said that he should not leave and that he should come on board, join the government.”
Ndume recalled how, as Senate Chief Whip, he and others nearly gave El-Rufai a smooth pass during his ministerial screening before his nomination was ultimately rejected.
He continued, “But sometimes, I’ll say, ‘okay o, you did that to us, it’s payback to yourself’.”
El-Rufai, who is now a member of the opposition Social Democratic Party, has become a vocal critic of Tinubu after being denied a place in his cabinet.
Earlier in June, Ndume while speaking on a Channels TV programme alleged that presidential aides who are meant to assist Tinubu are deceiving him on national issues.
He added that some of them are even damaging the President’s image.
This is just as he claimed that the government has been hijacked by those he described as “kleptocrats” and “kakistocrats”.
