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Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that before the 2023 presidential election, political leaders were aware of the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s academic records in Chicago, United States but still supported him.
He noted that their hope was that Tinubu would replicate his “achievements” in Lagos at the national level.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai, who had been highly critical of the All Progressives Congress and the Tinubu government after his defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), admitted that he and other political figures supported Tinubu despite knowing about the controversy, believing he had the capacity to lead Nigeria effectively.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges.
“We all knew about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed,” El-Rufai said.
The former governor also called for a political realignment, urging opposition leaders — including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, and ex-Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola — to join forces under the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
“What I want and pray for is for all opposition leaders — Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola — to join the SDP,” he stated.
Addressing claims that he betrayed Atiku, El-Rufai defended his political choices, saying his decisions were based on performance rather than personal loyalty.
“I never betrayed Atiku Abubakar because we didn’t meet in politics; we met at work. If I see that he didn’t do well, whoever he is, I will tell him. I told Buhari, and I even took Buhari to court on the new naira issue.
“When Obasanjo and Atiku were having issues, those of us working with Obasanjo looked at the issues between them and said Obasanjo was more right.
“It was not about north and south; Obasanjo was right. Atiku and I are now together, and if I betrayed him, why are we together now?” he added.
El-Rufai’s comments come after he defected to SDP amid increasing dissatisfaction within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with speculation that some key figures may be considering a political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
Tinubu’s matter with the Chicago State University had come to the fore in 2023 after there were alleged discrepancies in the identity and certificate of President Bola Tinubu.
The Chicago State University in response to a deposition had stated that the diploma that Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not issued by them.
At the same time, CSU had insisted that Tinubu graduated from the school and presented a transcript of results purporting to be that of the Nigerian president
