A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima, has revealed that he advised former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to remain in exile or risk being jailed if he returned to Nigeria, following the deterioration of his relationship with President Bola Tinubu and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Galadima made the disclosure while speaking on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, where he said he became concerned about El-Rufai’s safety after the former governor’s relationship with the Tinubu administration broke down.
According to Galadima, he warned El-Rufai to be cautious about returning to Nigeria, alleging that the former governor could face persecution or imprisonment.
“Tinubu and his people are ingrates as far as El-Rufai is concerned. I’m not the best friend of El-Rufai. In fact, I advised him that he should be careful of the way he carries himself, that he either goes on exile or they will jail him,” he said.
Galadima said his concerns were not limited to private conversations, adding that he had also spoken about El-Rufai’s situation during interviews with the BBC and Nigerian television stations.
He further disclosed that he approached former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, after learning that El-Rufai was planning to return to Nigeria from Egypt.
“I went and met Kwankwaso and told Kwankwaso that he should beg El-Rufai not to come back. These people do not mean well to him,” Galadima said.
According to him, Kwankwaso subsequently contacted El-Rufai, who initially postponed his return before later announcing another date for his arrival in Nigeria.
Despite his earlier warning, Galadima described El-Rufai’s eventual decision to return to Nigeria as a demonstration of courage.
The NDC chieftain also accused the APC of being determined to retain power, alleging that the party could resort to extreme measures because of the potential consequences its leaders may face if they lose power.
“The desperation with which the APC is going, they can do anything under the sun to come back to power, because they know what it entails if they lose power; what they have done to people will visit them,” he said.
Galadima also accused Tinubu and his associates of being ungrateful to El-Rufai, despite what he described as the former Kaduna governor’s contribution to Tinubu’s emergence as president in the 2023 election.
