The Special Adviser on Public Communications and Media to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala says former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai’s coalition lacks political weight and has already lost momentum.
Bwala made the comments during an interview on Focus Nigeria, an AIT programme, where he dismissed the relevance of El-Rufai’s recent political moves.
“Even when he started, it was like that — like he dropped Andrew Liver Salt, and then it calmed down. That’s what is happening. Nobody talks about him. Nobody looks for him,”;; Bwala said.
He argued that El-Rufai is disconnected from the political base and does not have grassroots support, despite the attention he receives in the media.
“When we talk of the north, there are times there is a misconception. People identify five eggheads and call them the north. Some of them are disconnected from the source.”;;
El-Rufai’’s influence was ‘dwindled before he left office
Bwala added that El-Rufai’s political decline began during his second term as governor of Kaduna, citing APC’s loss of key National Assembly seats and the presidential vote in the state as evidence of his waning influence.
“In the second half of his term, the APC lost three senate seats and a number of House of Representatives seats. The president lost the election there.
“So, people won’t look at those. But political scientists, they look at those things as indices,”;; he said, describing the former governor’s popularity as short-lived.
The presidential aide also revealed that even those involved in current coalition talks are asking El-Rufai to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Even among the people who are talking about coalition now, he said he wants to move somewhere. They say, come back to PDP,”;; Bwala said.
In contrast, Bwala defended President Tinubu’s popularity, citing the enthusiastic reception during a recent visit to Katsina.
“We went to Katsina with the president two weeks ago... from the airport to the city, people lined up,”;; he said, pushing back against claims that Tinubu lacks support.
El-Rufai had recently described the Tinubu administration as the “worst and most corrupt”;; in Nigeria’s history — a statement that has added fuel to growing political tensions.
