By Samuel Adeola
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has predicted that the 2027 presidential election will not produce an outright winner in the first ballot, setting the stage for a runoff.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, el-Rufai argued that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has “no pathway to victory” in the next election and, at best, will come third.
El-Rufai, who was a frontline campaigner for Tinubu in 2023, stressed that Nigerians will vote based on performance rather than party loyalty.
He warned that state institutions alone cannot guarantee re-election.
“Invite former President Goodluck Jonathan for a chat,” he said. “Ask him if he didn’t have all the institutions in 2015; INEC, the police, the army and we still got him out. Is the case similar today? It’s worse.”
The former governor also disclosed that he would have resigned if appointed as a minister in Tinubu’s cabinet.
His own ministerial nomination was previously rejected by the Senate on security grounds, a development that prompted his exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
