The Special Adviser on Public Communications and Media to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, has downplayed the political relevance of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, declaring that his newly floated coalition has already lost momentum.
Speaking during an interview on Focus Nigeria, an AIT programme, Bwala likened El-Rufai’s political moves to a short-lived reaction, saying:
“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 argued that El-Rufai lacks grassroots appeal and is disconnected from the political base in the North.
“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.”
He further stated that El-Rufai’s political decline began during his second term in office, pointing to the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s loss of three Senate seats and several House of Representatives positions, as well as the party’s failure to secure the presidential vote in Kaduna State.
“Political scientists look at those things as indices,” Bwala noted, adding that the former governor’s popularity had already begun to wane before he left office.
The presidential aide also revealed that even those currently involved in coalition talks are urging El-Rufai to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“They say, come back to PDP,” he added.
In contrast, Bwala praised President Tinubu’s growing popularity, citing his recent visit to Katsina State.
“We went to Katsina with the president two weeks ago… from the airport to the city, people lined up,” he said.
El-Rufai recently stirred controversy after describing the Tinubu administration as the “worst and most corrupt” in Nigeria’s history — a statement that has further heightened political tensions.
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