A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Engineer Buba Galadima, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his key political associates of showing total ingratitude toward the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, despite his crucial role in securing the ruling party’s victory in the 2023 presidential elections.
​Galadima voiced these criticisms during a media interview in Abuja on Sunday morning, October 4, 2026, amid growing political tensions and state scrutiny surrounding the former Kaduna governor.
​Addressing political developments surrounding El-Rufai’s recent legal and political entanglements, Galadima described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration as ungrateful to key allies who helped power its 2023 electoral success.
​”Tinubu and those around him are showing absolute ingratitude to people who put their political careers on the line to make sure this presidency happened,” Galadima asserted.
He noted that El-Rufai was instrumental in leading Northern APC governors in 2022 to insist that the presidential nomination be zoned to the South, a key decision that ultimately paved the path for Tinubu’s emergence as candidate and president.
​Galadima revealed that following warnings about potential security hostiles awaiting El-Rufai, he personally intervened to advise the former governor against returning immediately to the country from Egypt.
​”I went and met Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and told him that he should beg El-Rufai not to come back, because these people do not mean well for him,” Galadima recounted, noting that Kwankwaso subsequently reached out to El-Rufai, who briefly postponed his travel before eventually returning to Nigeria.
​Galadima warned that the ruling party’s aggressive tactics against opposition political figures and former allies stem from anxiety over the 2027 general elections. He charged that the APC administration has systematically sought to destabilize alternate political platforms to stifle opposition ahead of the next ballot.
​”The desperation with which the APC is going, they can do anything under the sun to retain power because they know the consequences of losing power after what they have meted out to people,” Galadima added.
​As of Sunday afternoon, October 4, 2026, official spokespersons for the Presidency, including Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi had not issued a formal reply to Galadima’s accusations.
Neither the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, nor representatives for El-Rufai have offered an official statement regarding Galadima’s disclosure.
