FORMER Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has declared that he is not intimidated by threats of arrest by President Bola Tinubu’s government.
He promised to return to Nigeria before February 20.
He said he had put all his academic plans on hold and would spend more time in Nigeria than ever. “Silence is no longer golden. Inaction has never been an option,” he stated.
His latest outburst came amidst the festering rift between him and Tinubu’s government.
El Rufai and some chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) loyal to Tinubu have exchanged tantrums in recent weeks as his opposition grows against the government he helped to form.
Reacting to a post on X on Tuesday, February 11, about his possible arrest by Tinubu’s administration, El-Rufai claimed that his adversaries were attempting to force him into exile.
He alleged that his political foes had sent similar threat messages through many of his friends, family, and political associates.
El-Rufai, who said he was in Egypt, said, “I have been hearing these same rumours of arrest, detention, and torture in some dungeon in the NSA’s office (where Emefiele was allegedly tortured to resign as CBN governor),” since July 2024 when the so-called report of the Kaduna Assembly began circulating. El-Rufai tweeted.
He highlighted his intention to return to Nigeria for the launch of former President Ibrahim Babangida’s memoirs.
“The arrest, detention, and torture of perceived political enemies are nothing new in human affairs. I have been arrested and detained thrice in the past for expressing my views on previous governments.
“There is always a morning after the arrest, detention, or torture, and political life continues. As for death, it is when Allah destines it, and it is ultimately the fate of every human,” he added.
El-Rufai, one of the major APC stalwarts who ensured Tinubu won the presidency, was nominated as a minister by Tinubu in 2023 but was not confirmed by the Senate due to alleged security issues.
The ICIR reported that El-Rufai, a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has been an outspoken critic of the Tinubu administration in recent months.
He has confronted his predecessor, Uba Sani, who accused him and his appointees of squirrelling the state’s resources, milking it dry, and plunging it into a huge debt.
On February 4, he alleged that Tinubu’s administration ‘selectively’ paid Sani’s government over N150 billion. He attributed such payment to why the Kaduna governor backed the Tinubu-led Federal Government against him.
Also recently, while speaking at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Abuja on Monday, January 27, El-Rufai called on opposition parties to form a united platform to challenge the ruling party and ‘save’ the nation’s democracy.
“We know what it is, and we don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their ‘babarriga‘ and suits. So, this is a national emergency,” he warned.
In another fiery attack, El-Rufai took a swipe at the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
A reporter with the ICIR
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