Former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai has called on Bola Tinubu to steer clear of sectional politics, urging him to avoid repeating the lopsided appointments seen during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
Mr. el-Rufai made the statement in response to a Saturday opinion by Nigerian-American writer Farooq Kperogi, who alleged a plan by Mr. Tinubu to appoint another Yoruba kinsman as the head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“Two wrongs do not make a right. Sensible inclusion always trumps arrogant exclusion,” the former governor wrote on his X handle on Saturday.
Tinubu has faced criticism for allegedly favouring his Yoruba ethnic group in key federal appointments. This pattern has drawn comparisons to Mr. Buhari’s administration, which was often accused of appointing primarily northern Muslims to top federal positions during his eight years in office.
Groups such as the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) have condemned Mr. Tinubu’s perceived favoritism, labeling it as destructive sectionalism and a betrayal of inclusivity.
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However, critics noted that Mr. el-Rufai had defended similar patterns under Mr. Buhari, arguing at the time that those appointments were merit-based and free of ethnic or religious bias. This defense has now been adopted by some of Mr. Tinubu’s supporters to justify the current administration’s decisions.
Human rights activist Aisha Yesufu criticized Mr. el-Rufai for his remarks, pointing out his significant role in Mr. Tinubu’s rise to the presidency and questioning his stance on the issue.
“Whatever Tinubu is doing today, he got the memo from Buhari and his supporters who wanted to kill many of us because we said it was ICCIF! And you, @elrufai, you were one of those instrumental In Tinubu getting the critical number of votes he could use to rig the 2023 election, and you gleefully supported him,” Ms Yesufu wrote on X.
Recall that last year, after the Akpabio-led Senate put a hold on his endorsement, Mr. el-Rufai declined Mr. Tinubu’s offer of a ministerial position.
Some of his opponents claimed that the hold was because of Mr. el-Rufai’s handling of the ethnic and sectarian conflicts that dominated the majority of his two-term tenure as governor, while others pointed to the politician’s implied tendency toward corruption and betrayal of allies.
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