KADUNA, Nigeria — Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has warned that President Bola Tinubu may attempt to entrench himself in power beyond constitutional limits if Nigerians fail to unite against him in the 2027 elections.
Speaking in Kaduna on Saturday, September 20, 2025, during a solidarity visit from former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, el-Rufai compared Tinubu to Paul Biya, Cameroon’s president who has ruled for more than four decades.
“The sum total of this is that we are facing an evil of such a large proportion in the history of this country that if we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,” el-Rufai said.
He accused the Tinubu government of betraying democratic ideals and centralising authority rather than strengthening federalism.
“Honestly, sir, to me, it is even a disgrace. I mean, for people to behave the way they are behaving, it means that all the years of saying that we are for democracy and NADECO, all the claims that we are fighting for true federalism and so on — it was all a pretence, all fake again. Because this government (Tinubu’s administration) is trying to centralize everything instead of devolving power to the lower levels,” he said.
El-Rufai urged Atiku, who contested against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, to take a leading role in galvanising opposition forces ahead of 2027.
He praised Atiku’s record in opposition politics and governance, contrasting it with the current climate.
“You (Atiku) are our leader, you have done this fight before, you have fought the military, you have experience in democratic governance. And when you and Obasanjo were in charge of this country, no one was being harassed because he had a different political view, never, not once,” he said.
“Even President Buhari, with his military background, never did that, and here we are facing full-fledged civilians, but they are worse than any military regime we’ve ever had.”
El-Rufai claimed that Nigerians were ready to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 and called for unity among opposition leaders.
Responding, Atiku applauded el-Rufai’s comments and urged opponents of the government to remain focused on ensuring that Tinubu’s administration is held accountable and eventually removed through democratic means.
The remarks came after el-Rufai alleged he was targeted by “APC-sponsored thugs” during the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna recently.
