*Say’s “We were aware”, regret supporting Tinubu
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
The former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has said that the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were aware that President Bola Tinubu had some issues in Chicago.
He also said “I’m pained we supported Tinubu despite his certificate forgery, cocaine scandal
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service Monitored, in Kaduna, el-Rufai said the leaders of the party believed Tinubu would serve Nigeria better despite the problems he had in Chicago.
The former minister who expressed his disappointment over the current governance situation in Nigeria said, it is unfortunate that the government they supported has failed them.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well, because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges.
“We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed,” El-Rufai said.
Former Kaduna State Governor also has said he is pained about President Bola Tinubu’s failure because he and others supported his presidential bid despite knowing about his cocaine and certificate forgery scandals.
Mr El-Rufai said he supported Mr Tinubu despite knowing his sordid past because he wanted him to replicate what he did in Lagos State as governor in Nigeria.
The former governor, in an interview with the BBC Hausa, said, “What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges.”
Speaking on President Tinubu’s alleged involvement in cocaine trafficking and certificate forgery, El-Rufai said, “We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”
It would be recalled that multiple reports alleged Tinubu of involvement in drug trafficking scandal that saw him forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government in 1993.
The issue re-emerged shortly after he declared interest to contest presidency in 2022.
In 2022, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois released fresh documents showing Mr Tinubu’s encounter with the U.S. authorities over allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
Also, the alleged university certificate forgery scandal came to light during his campaign for the presidency.
Also recalled that El-rufai was among those screened out for ministerial appointment by national assembly under the Tinubu led administration of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC,.
