Victor EzejaThe All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to comments by the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, about the party and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
el-Rufaiu, who recently left the APC and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has been criticising the party and President Tinubu’s administration.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn trying to justify the reason for his exit from the APC, el-Rufai in one of his interviews, said the ruling party has deviated from the progressive ideals of its founders and turned into a party where “everyone is now pursuing personal interests.” He also alleged that the APC lacks internal democracy and that stakeholders including him, were no longer carried along in the affairs of the party.
The former Kaduna governor called on other key opposition figures to join him under SDP, in a move to unseat Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
Reacting to el-Rufai’s claims, the APC in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the former governor is traumatised by his failure to land a ministerial position in Tinubu’s government.
It would be recalled that el-Rufai was nominated for a ministerial position in Tinubu’s government but was later dropped during screening at the National Assembly.
Morka said el-Rufai’s claims that he left the party because it had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology “is a smokescreen to weaponise personal grievance garbed as principled dissent.
“el-Rufai appears traumatised by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform he rode to political prominence.”
Read ALSO: el-Rufai Leaves APC For Social Democratic Party
He countered El-Rufai’s claims about APC, asserting that the party has remained committed to its founding values and ideals of progressiveness.
“el-Rufai’s allegation of a drift from our Party’s founding values exists only in his foggy imagination.”
“Assuming that matters of political conviction had anything to do with his exit, exactly how is the Social Democratic Party (SDP), el-Rufai’s new political abode, an ideological safe haven?,” Morka asked.
The APC national publicity secretary observed that el-Rufai’s call for opposition members to join him under SDP platform “is nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness, and delusion of grandeur” and Nigerians know that he is being driven by self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country.
He further stated that the APC is unfazed by El-Rufai’s exit, grudge and tirade as it continues to welcome new members joining the party from across the country who identify with the Party’s values and support President Tinubu’s policies.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Pledges To Work Harder As APC Passes Vote Of confidence
Morka said el-Rufai’s claim that Tinubu’s administration has failed is an “outrageous” and “a gross distortion of the reality.”
He stressed that Tinubu’s economic reforms (fuel subsidy removal, and exchange rate unification among others), initiated to address the country’s generational challenges are beginning to yield to success in the areas of increased foreign investment inflow, improvement in revenue generation, GDP growth rate and an increase in oil production and exports.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy now saves Nigeria an estimated ₦4 trillion annually, while the unification of exchange rates has resulted in higher foreign exchange inflow, “while the country’s foreign reserves have shown resilient growth despite global economic pressures,” Morka added.
While reiterating that President Tinubu remains committed to fulfilling his campaign promises, the APC national publicity secretary urged el-Rufai to offer constructive criticisms or alternative policies as expected of serious-minded political opposition instead of “engaging in scurrilous propaganda and deliberate misinformation.”
He claimed that the former FCT minister’s “misleading rhetoric and personal attacks on the president are reprehensible and calculated to undermine the country’s progress.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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