ABUJA, Nigeria — A senior aide to President Bola Tinubu has dismissed as baseless suggestions by former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai that the president could attempt to extend his stay in power beyond constitutional limits.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to Tinubu, said on Sunday, September 21, 2025, that el-Rufai’s remarks amounted to “unfounded claims and speculations.”
His response came a day after the former governor compared Nigeria’s political future to Cameroon, where President Paul Biya, 92, has ruled since 1982 and recently announced plans to seek another term in October.
Speaking at a political gathering on Saturday, September 20, 2025, el-Rufai warned that Tinubu could attempt a similar hold on power unless Nigerians united against him in the 2027 elections.
Onanuga rejected the comparison outright.
“Instead, he resorted to spreading further unfounded stories, including the claim that President Tinubu intends to become a ‘life president’ after 2027 — a speculation that is baseless and absurd,” he wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The presidential adviser insisted that Tinubu remained committed to Nigeria’s constitutional framework.
“President Tinubu is a democrat who does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027,” he added.
Onanuga argued that Mr. el-Rufai’s comments reflected political frustrations rather than reality.
According to him, the former governor’s associates in his new political party had failed in their attempts to block Tinubu’s re-election prospects.
“He seems to have realised the futility of the attempts … the plot is proving to be unattainable and is a mission doomed to fail,” he wrote.
He also pointed to what he described as the enthusiastic reception Tinubu received during a recent visit to Kaduna as evidence that northern support for the president remained intact.
“El-Rufai was unsettled by the grand reception Tinubu received,” Onanuga said, suggesting the event undercut claims that the president had lost his political base in the region.
The adviser went further, suggesting that the Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, may need to intervene.
“El-Rufai could benefit from some professional counselling to steer him away from his recent hallucinations and political fabrications on Tinubu and 2027,” he wrote.
