Key Points

• El-Rufai says some individuals paid for ministerial appointments.
• He claims the APC has abandoned its founding principles.
• He sought Buhari’s approval before leaving the party.

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that individuals paid to secure ministerial appointments in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, El-Rufai also disclosed that he sought former President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval before leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

APC has lost its way, says El-Rufai

El-Rufai said the APC had strayed from its founding principles, accusing the party of prioritizing personal interests over governance.

“The APC has derailed; the party is no longer what we built. Everyone is only thinking about themselves and money. The government has been commercialized, and everything has a price tag,” he said.

He also claimed that loyal party members were sidelined while appointments were handed to “Lagos boys.”

“That is why we have been speaking out. This is not the party we built. The party is dead. The only option left for me was to meet Pastor Tunde Bakare because he was the one who brought me into APC and introduced me to Buhari. It was only right that I informed him,” El-Rufai explained.

He added that he also informed Buhari of his decision, and the former president gave him his blessings.

I didn’t leave APC, the party left me

El-Rufai dismissed speculation that he left the APC to avoid being expelled.

“That would have been easier. But the truth is, I didn’t leave the party; the party abandoned me. First, I was completely sidelined and excluded from party activities. I was not even invited, let alone refused to participate,” he said.

He further claimed that the current administration is not implementing the policies and plans APC originally intended.

Some people paid for ministerial positions

Responding to claims that he left the APC because he was denied a ministerial position, El-Rufai refuted the allegations but revealed that some individuals paid money to secure appointments.

“I know those who paid to become ministers,” he stated.

El-Rufai explained that he only attended the ministerial screening because President Tinubu personally begged him.

“It was in Kaduna that he begged me to join his government. He said the country’s electricity problem was holding back development, and he wanted to be the president who finally fixed it. He asked me to help him achieve that. I told him I would think about it before deciding.”