News
El-Rufai’s betrayal and Akpabio’s buffoonery
By Farooq Kperogi
Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai’s rumored withdrawal from consideration as a minister in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government because high-tensile inter-elite intrigues torpedoed his senate confirmation and caused the president to sour on him is the bluntest, crudest, most double-dyed political treachery I’ve seen in a long time.
Sure, El-Rufai is a detestable, self-important, unfeeling, overweening, and divisive political villain whom I once called the most dangerous Nigerian politician alive, but he is more central to Tinubu’s emergence as president than the people on whose behalf Tinubu has thrown him under the bus.
El-Rufai left everything aside to galvanize support for Tinubu among northern governors, which was crucial to Tinubu’s win in APC’s primary election. He stood up to Muhammadu Buhari’s cabal on Tinubu’s behalf at a time when few people within the circles of power were willing to stick out their necks for a presidential wannabe.
When the Central Bank of Nigeria rolled out its damagingly bird-brained naira recolouring policy to stymie Tinubu’s chances at the polls, El-Rufai launched an all-out, scorched-earth, no-holds-barred rhetorical blitzkrieg against the CBN and honchos of the Buhari regime. Tinubu got tremendous sympathy and persuasive mileage from the knowledge that the hurt Nigerians were undergoing in the days leading up to the election was engineered to get at him, and no one enabled this awareness more than El-Rufai.
Additionally, Tinubu himself visited Kaduna and publicly implored El-Rufai to shelve his planned doctoral studies abroad and work with him. During his public appeal, Tinubu infamously said El-Rufai had the uncanny competence to turn “a rotten situation into a bad one.” At the time I wondered if it was a Freudian slip (which means he unintentionally let out what was in his mind), a targeted missile, or an innocent verbal mishap.
Now, that description of El-Rufai has assumed a whole new meaning, especially if you recall that Bayo Onanuga, celebrated journalist and former spokesman for the Tinubu presidential campaign, had said that Tinubu’s unflattering characterization of El-Rufai was “a mere Freudian slip.” Given his level of education and exposure, it’s unlikely that Onanuga doesn’t know what a Freudian slip is.
A Freudian slip, as I pointed out earlier, is a mistake that unintentionally reveals an uncomfortable truth that we wish to suppress. In other words, Onanuga said Tinubu actually secretly thought El-Rufai had a special knack for transforming rotten situations into bad ones but only unconsciously revealed this unpleasant truth in an unguarded moment.
Maybe Onanuga’s revelation that Tinubu’s statement was a “mere Freudian slip” was itself a Freudian slip. That means even Onanuga believed Tinubu’s horrid character portrait of El-Rufai, and inadvertently betrayed it in his statement defending his boss.
Anyway, because I cherish the virtues of honor and integrity, betrayal even to a scoundrel activates vicarious unease in me. Public humiliation isn’t a just reward for the efforts El-Rufai invested in contributing to Tinubu’s ascendancy to the presidency.
Nonetheless, truth be told, as a person, El-Rufai doesn’t deserve anyone’s pity. What he is going through now is mere karmic payback. Treachery is the currency of his politics.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar brought El-Rufai from obscurity to the national limelight by giving him a job as the DG of the Bureau of Public Enterprises. But he turned against Atiku and publicly denied any debt to him for his political rise.
But in cables WikiLeaks exposed, he confessed to American embassy officials that Atiku indeed gave him his first public service job. In a 2006 cable, Ambassador John Campbell quoted El-Rufai as telling him that “he had entered government service by working for the Vice President.”
On December 31, 2002, according to U.S. Embassy in Nigeria cables published by WikiLeaks, El-Rufai ran to US officials to give them foreknowledge of his plan to resign as DG of BPE in early 2003. He spoke approvingly of Atiku and was severely censorious of Obasanjo during the meeting.
“El-Rufai said the VP (chair of the National Council on Privatization, the policy-making body that oversees BPE) had pressed for further information on why he wanted to return to the private sector. El-Rufai responded that President Obasanjo’s commitment to privatization and greater transparency had collapsed under the pressures of politics,” Ambassador John Cambell wrote. “Trying too hard to please those who could never be placated, Obasanjo was sacrificing the precepts of a sensible economic agenda in the interest of getting re- elected.”
El-Rufai later betrayed Atiku about whom he spoke glowingly in meetings with U.S. officials. He found a new benefactor in Obasanjo whose unethical practices he’d said compelled his resignation as DG of BPE.
On September 21, 2006, for instance, El-Rufai went to meet with the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and the UK High Commissioner “under instruction” from President Obasanjo to inform them of and seek their blessing to deny Atiku Abubakar the chance to succeed his Obasanjo. That’s a wild change of loyalties.
“After opening pleasantries in which el-Rufai noted that one of his children is an American citizen, the Minister emphasized that his call was at the explicit instruction of the President; he would also be seeing the British High Commissioner, similarly on instruction,” Campbell wrote. “The President’s purpose is to brief the representatives of Nigeria’s ‘closest allies’ on his strategy for ensuring that the Vice President may not run for the presidency in 2007. Rather than seeking the Vice President’s impeachment for corruption by the National Assembly, El-Rufai continued, the President had appointed an administrative panel of his close political allies (El-Rufai was a member, as was Minister of Education Obi Ezekwesili, Attorney General Bayo Ojo and Minister of Finance Nenadi Usman) to investigate charges of corruption against Atiku.”
Of course, El-Rufai later betrayed Obasanjo—and everybody else that has propelled his career or extended favors to him. Obasanjo himself would later write about El-Rufai’s compulsive treachery and duplicity. Given his history, there is no question that El-Rufai would have been treacherous to Tinubu, too, in due course. He would have made Tinubu’s “a rotten situation into a bad one.”
El-Rufai seems congenitally incapable of being loyal to people who feather his aspirations.
What’s happening to El-Rufai now actually pales in comparison to the depth of his serial betrayal of his benefactors. It’s a case of live by the sword, die by the sword.
Akpabio: A Buffoon as Senate President
It’s now obvious that Godswill Akpabio is a dimwitted, cognitively vacant man-child who holds a position that’s light-years above his intellectual and emotional pay-grade. He is a total airhead who has no business being in the senate, much less being the head of it. How did we get to the point that someone who is that nescient, that brainless, and that imbecilic is senate president?
The other day, he outraged the sensibilities of a hurting nation when he mocked the poor by ridiculing the phrase “Let the poor breathe,” an earnest, intense mantra that encapsulates the dire existential desperation of the vast majority of our people who are suffocating under the weight of hard-hearted, paralyzing economic policies.
Then this week, he was caught on live TV informing senators that the clerk of the senate had sent them unspecified sums of money to facilitate the enjoyment of their forthcoming parliamentary break at a time the poor are stripped of every subsidy and told to die by installment in the interest of a “better” tomorrow that many won’t live to see—and that won’t materialize even if they manage to survive the ongoing crunch.
When smarter crooks in the senate alerted him to the callousness of his unsolicited assault on the psyche of the poor, he took back what he said and lied that he meant that he had sent prayers to the mailboxes of senators! How do you send prayers to mailboxes? Does Akpabio think everyone is a rude, crude, buffoonish and vulgar rube like him?
*Kperogi is a Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States, and a notable columnist
The Dangote Group has reaffirmed the critical role of domestic production in strengthening Nigeria’s economic resilience.
The Group stated this weekend through its Group General Manager, Mr. Abdullahi Bello Danmusa, who represented the Regional Director/Senior Adviser to the Dangote Group President/CE, Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, at the Dangote Special Day at the ongoing Abuja International Trade Fair.
Speaking on the theme of this year’s Trade Fair, “Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy,” Mr. Danmusa said taxation remains a fundamental component of national development, stressing that Dangote Group takes its tax obligations seriously and contributes substantial revenues to government annually, while also supporting employment, enterprise and value creation across its operations.
He said trade could achieve greater economic impact when it is supported by strong domestic productive capacity.
“Trade becomes more meaningful when it is supported by production. No country can build lasting resilience by depending excessively on imports that it has the capacity to produce competitively at home.
“This is why Dangote Group continues to invest in manufacturing and industrial capacity across cement, sugar, salt and seasoning, packaging, fertiliser, petrochemicals and petroleum refining.
“The theme of this year’s Trade Fair, ‘Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy,’ speaks directly to the realities of our time.
“Nigeria’s economic resilience will ultimately depend on a fundamental choice: to continue to import what we can produce, or build the capacity to produce, compete and export.”
Danmusa noted that strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity would help deepen economic activity, create jobs, support local enterprises and reduce excessive dependence on imported products.
He added that the Group’s investments across various sectors reflect its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation and contributing to the development of a more productive and resilient economy.
Also speaking at the Dangote Special Day, the First Deputy President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Prof. Adebisi Adesugba, commended Dangote Industries for its contribution to Nigeria’s economic development.
Adesugba, who represented the President of ACCI, Emeka Obegolu, SAN, said the longstanding partnership between Dangote and the Chamber demonstrates the important
He noted that Dangote’s strategic investments in sectors including cement, fertiliser, agriculture, refining and petrochemicals have contributed to strengthening domestic productive capacity, creating employment opportunities, reducing dependence on imports and supporting foreign exchange generation.
“ACCI recognises Dangote not only as an exhibitor and sponsor, but also as a strategic partner.”
He said the partnership between ACCI and Dangote has contributed to creating opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs while supporting trade, investment and sustainable economic development.
Adesugba further expressed the Chamber’s appreciation for Dangote’s longstanding relationship and partnership with ACCI, describing the collaboration as an important platform for strengthening the business community and advancing economic opportunities.
The Dangote Special Day brought together business leaders, government representatives, investors, exhibitors, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders as part of activities at the ongoing Abuja International Trade Fair.
Also speaking at the Dangote Special Day, the First Deputy President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Prof. Adebisi Adesugba, commended Dangote Industries for its contribution to Nigeria’s economic development.
Adesugba, who represented the President of ACCI, Emeka Obegolu, SAN, said the longstanding partnership between Dangote and the Chamber demonstrates the important role of responsible corporate participation in promoting commerce, investment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria and across the African sub-region.
He noted that Dangote’s strategic investments in sectors including cement, fertiliser, agriculture, refining and petrochemicals have contributed to strengthening domestic productive capacity, creating employment opportunities, reducing dependence on imports and supporting foreign exchange generation.
“ACCI recognises Dangote not only as an exhibitor and sponsor, but also as a strategic partner.”
He said the partnership between ACCI and Dangote has contributed to creating opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs while supporting trade, investment and sustainable economic development.
Adesugba further expressed the Chamber’s appreciation for Dangote’s longstanding relationship and partnership with ACCI, describing the collaboration as an important platform for strengthening the business community and advancing economic opportunities.
The Dangote Special Day brought together business leaders, government representatives, investors, exhibitors, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders as part of activities at the ongoing Abuja International Trade Fair.
The event provided an opportunity for stakeholders to engage on issues around taxation, trade, industrialisation, investment, domestic production and the broader prospects for Nigeria’s economic development.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, Shehu Umar Nadada, to Imo State to provide operational leadership and strengthen ongoing efforts to rescue the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other passengers abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road at Umunoha on October 1, 2026.
Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed in a statement on Friday that DIG Nadada arrived Imo State alongside two Commissioners of Police and immediately carried out an on-the-spot assessment of the security situation and the search-and-rescue operations being coordinated by the Imo State Police Command.
During the visit, the DIG reviewed operational strategies, personnel deployments, and the utilization of security assets. He also issued fresh directives aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the coordinated rescue mission.
The assessment was conducted in the company of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Audu Garba Bosso; the Commissioner of Police, Federal Operations, CP Akpan Anifiok; the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Police Mobile Force, CP Nendel Joseph Gomwalk; other service commanders; and members of the Imo State Police Command management team.
According to Iniedu, the police have intensified the search operation, deploying additional tactical teams and operational resources to identified locations.
He said the operation was being reinforced through intelligence-led efforts to track the abductors, alongside coordinated operations with other security agencies.
Nadada, according to the statement, assured members of the public that the police would continue working to secure the safe release of those abducted.
“The Nigeria Police Force is committed to securing the safe rescue of the 20 abducted persons and will sustain the operation until the mission is successfully concluded,” Iniedu quoted Nadada as saying.
The DIG appealed to members of the public and the media to remain calm and vigilant, while urging anyone with credible information that could assist the rescue operation to report to the police or the nearest security formation.
“All information received will be treated with strict confidentiality,” he said.
The police said further information on the rescue operation would be made available as developments unfold.
Photo caption: Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara (right) presenting the Staff of Office to His Majesty King Charles Douglas Mac-Pepple Jaja Jeki VI (left),the newly crowned Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom at Government House Port Harcourt on Friday.
Governor of Rivers State , His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Friday formally presented the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the new Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom, His Majesty King Charles Douglas Mac-Pepple Jaja, Jeki VI, urging the new monarch to promote peace, unity and inclusiveness in the kingdom.
The governor while congratulating the new monarch, for successfully scaling the hurdles of selection and coronation, urged the royal father to see contenders who lost out of the selection process, not as victims but as comrades who must be carried along for the kingdom to move forward during his reign.
Speaking during the presentation ceremony in Government House, Port Harcourt, Governor Fubara apologized for his absence at the coronation, explaining that it was due to a call to higher national service, but that his spirit and soul were fully with the kingdom throughout the process.
He declared that history will remember his administration for peacefully laying to rest the late King, Douglas Dandeson Jaja, and mid-wifing the emergence of a new monarch without litigation.
The Governor, who said he remains one of the proudest persons on earth for the success of the transition, disclosed that the late king’s stool was enmeshed in a legal battle that lasted over 27 years, and that it took the wisdom and deliberate intervention of his administration to manage the selection process to avoid another round of court cases.
He emphasized that contrary to insinuations by mischief makers who tried to politicise his absence, his government was fully responsible for the entire process from burial of the late king to the coronation and recognition.
“Our presence was not just in that process alone. Every logistics that were required, there is nobody that can say he’s the one that did it. We did it. So, that is also a key issue in the process. So, for those people who like using everything for politics, my absence was not an intentional thing; it was a call to service. So the fact that I was unable to make it doesn’t mean that I do not value, appreciate or support the process,” Governor Fubara said.
He said the true test of kingship is in the management of success, and prayed that the new reign will usher in greater development in education, healthcare and small businesses, which he said remain the only sustainable antidotes to the growing criminality among youths.
The Governor, who described Opobo as one of the most peaceful Local Government Areas in the State, charged the new king to maintain zero tolerance for criminality, to be intentional and decisive in protecting the kingdom, and not to compromise on security on the grounds of kinship.
Governor Fubara assured the monarch of the continuous support of his administration both in and out of office, while also charging the Alapu Council to guide the king and the titled citizens to redirect their purpose from mere ceremonial uniformity to initiating tangible development projects that will be visible in the kingdom within the next one year.
In an acceptance speech, the newly installed Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom, His Majesty King Jaja Jeki VI, pledged to build Opobo on the pillars of service, inclusion and vision, in honour of the legacy of the great King Jaja who founded the kingdom 156 years ago with trade and diplomacy.
Describing the Staff of Office as more than a symbol of authority, the monarch said it represents a sacred trust from the government and people of Rivers State to lead with justice, peace and dignity.
In a statement, Onwuka Nzechi, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Fubara, quoted the monarch to have expressed deep gratitude to God, the ancestors, Governor Fubara, the Opobo Council of Alapu, titled citizens, elders, women and youths for the confidence reposed in him to lead Opobo into its Sixth Chapter.
The new king assured the Rivers State Government that under his reign, Opobo Kingdom will remain a dependable partner for peace, development and unity of Rivers State.
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