Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has revealed that he knows individuals who paid for ministerial positions in President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai clarified that his departure from the party was not due to his ministerial ordeal but because the APC had drifted from its founding ideals. He explained that if the party had sacked him, it would have spared him the stress of explaining his exit. According to him, it wasn’t he who left the APC, but rather, the party had abandoned him and its original principles.
“It could have been easier for me if APC sacked me because they would save me from explaining the stress of why I left the party,” El-Rufai said.
When asked whether he thought people might believe he left due to not being appointed as a minister, El-Rufai confidently responded, “Did I seek to be minister? I know people who paid to get ministerial appointments.”
Although El-Rufai did not regret supporting Tinubu’s presidential campaign, he expressed his disappointment with how he had been treated. He further criticized the APC for becoming a party where personal interests overshadow the original vision, making it difficult for those who worked hard for its success to be acknowledged or rewarded.
“The APC has abandoned the ideals that led to its formation. It has abandoned the people. Everyone is now pursuing personal interests and wealth. The government has become a business enterprise where everything has a price,” he said.
El-Rufai also pointed out that key appointments in the current administration are being controlled by a select group from Lagos, reinforcing his belief that fairness and justice have been sidelined within the party.
“There is no justice. Those who worked for the party are not recognised, let alone rewarded. Appointments are now controlled by a select group from Lagos. The party is dead,” El-Rufai concluded.
Before making the decision to leave the APC, El-Rufai consulted several political figures, including former President Muhammadu Buhari, Tunde Bakare, Abdullahi Adamu, Adams Oshiomhole, and Bisi Akande, to seek their opinions on his situation.