By Omoniyi David
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the wave of defections into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), asserting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be “lucky to come third” in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a live programme on Arise TV Monday night, El-Rufai criticized the growing perception that Tinubu’s re-election bid is already secured, especially as some serving opposition governors continue to defect to the APC.
“The belief that President Tinubu is coasting to a second term is premature. In fact, I don’t think he can win in 2027. He will be lucky to come third,” El-Rufai said pointedly.
He went further to accuse the Tinubu-led administration of gross negligence regarding Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
El-Rufai alleged that N100 billion has been deducted from the Federation Account over the past 15 months and disbursed to security agencies without National Assembly approval.
“For the last 15 months, N100 billion has been taken from the Federation Account and sent to security agencies without appropriation. Yet there is no improvement in security.
In 2024 alone, 2.2 million Nigerians were reportedly abducted and 615,000 killed. Are we at war?” he queried, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
He described the expenditure as unconstitutional, insisting it qualifies as an impeachable offence.
“Where has the N1.5 trillion gone? Why is the government urging communities to defend themselves? What happened to state responsibility?” El-Rufai asked.
On the emergence of a potential new political platform, El-Rufai clarified that the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), currently undergoing registration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has not been officially adopted by the opposition coalition led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
He stated that discussions are still ongoing and no final decision has been made regarding which platform will be used ahead of the 2027 elections.