El-Rufai, other Northwest leaders working for Tinubu’s victory, says party

The North West Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress *APC), says leaders of the party in the region, including Kaduna State Governo,r Nasir El-Rufai will support the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to victory in the 2023 presidential election.

Spokesperson, North West APC Presidential Campaign Council, Muhammad Shehu Molash said this in a statement.

According to him, contrary to insinuations being drawn from an interview El-Rufai granted earlier, the Kaduna State governor is fully in support of Tinubu.

“The social media space in Nigeria has recently been brimming with a  mischievously circulated video of Gov Elrufai, ostensibly,making reference to the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“To set the records straight,the said interview was conducted months ago. Elrufai was asked variety of questions, ranging from the rumoured vice presidential bid to a purported ministerial ambition and senatorial bid, which mischief makers alleged that he has asked his erstwhile chief of staff to vacate his ticket for him.

“Elrufai responded intelligently by reminding the reporters that having been a minister 20 years ago and governor since 2015, he is contented with what the Almighty has done for him. He further added that as a mentor who has raised capable mentees, he ought to give way for the younger generation to play their role in the next government, even though Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself is still insisting that he must be part of the incoming government, in 2023 God’s willing. That was the part that they have been mischievously circulating with a different subject to suit their sinister agenda.

“Recall that at the KADINVEST 7.0 in Kaduna, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had to publicly threaten not to leave the podium until he extracted a commitment from Elrufai that he will work with him.

“With almost 23 million  voters; President Buhari; 6 out of 7 governors; 15 Senators; 1/3 of APC members in the House of Reps, among hundreds of states’ Houses of Assembly members, the North West geo-political zone is the most politically comfortable zone for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC in general.

“Therefore, desperate politicians and political hawks have resorted to ‘cut and join campaign of calumny’ to create a political upheaval in the APC’s biggest stronghold in Nigeria.

“Apparently, the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Jos, where President Buhari, all the 22 APC state governors, all APC chieftains and millions of party supporters attended, has rattled them. Hence, their incessant  attempt to create a rift between our presidential candidate and one of his front line ‘political commanders’ in the North West.

“The North West APC Presidential Campaign shall continue to focus on winning all the 7 states,186 local governments and 2004 wards in the zone for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu regardless of the endless distractions by these political entrepreneurs.

“The political harmony in the APC,various infrastructural development projects by the APC led administration and improved security in the North West,particularly in Kaduna,Katsina and Zamfara states,has obviously left them without cheap political points to hang on to,” the statement read.