Tinubu risks becoming ‘Nigeria’s Paul Biya’ – El-Rufai warns

Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused President Bola Tinubu of steering Nigeria towards authoritarian rule, saying his style of governance heading to that of Cameroon’s long-serving leader, Paul Biya.

El-Rufai made the comments on Saturday when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar visited him in Kaduna.

The visit followed an attack on the ex-governor by what he described as “suspected APC-sponsored thugs” during the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The former governor criticized the Tinubu-led government for undermining democracy and concentrating power at the center.

“Honestly sir, to me, it is even a disgrace. I mean, for people to behave the way they are behaving, it means that all the years of saying that we are for democracy and NADECO, all the claims that we are fighting for true federalism and so on—it was all a pretence, all fake again. Because this government (Tinubu’s administration) is trying to centralize everything instead of devolving power to the lower levels,” El-Rufai said.

He cautioned that Nigeria risked sliding into a sit-tight presidency if citizens failed to unite and vote out Tinubu in 2027.

“The sum total of this is that we are facing an evil of such a large proportion in the history of this country that if we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,” he warned.

El-Rufai also praised Atiku’s democratic credentials, noting that opposition leaders must rally together to save the country.

“You (Atiku Abubakar) are our leader, you have done this fight before, you have fought the military, you have experience in democratic governance. And when you and Obasanjo were in charge of this country, no one was being harassed because he had a different political feel, never, not once. Even President Buhari, with his military background, never did that, and here we are facing full-fledged civilians but they are worse than any military regime we’ve ever had.

“Your call that we must unite is a timely one. I think the people of Nigeria have made up their mind that APC must be voted out. Nigerians are looking forward to his (Tinubu’s) ouster. We must provide the leadership and the unity of purpose that we have talked about, and then I am sure with your leadership, forbearance and diplomatic skills of bringing people together, I am sure we will reach the Promised Land,” he said.

In response, Atiku lauded El-Rufai’s stance and emphasized the need for opposition unity.“Anyway, I know you are not the type of person who is scared to confront this situation, the more reason why we should come together to confront this situation to make sure that, one, it doesn’t happen anymore during the remaining part of this administration, and secondly, like you said, we send them out by 2027, not through any other thing else but through the ballot box,” Atiku stated.