The Federal Government has blasted the Kaduna State’s former Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, for criticising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
It said the President is not deterred by the constant barrage of criticisms from the opposition.
In a statement on Saturday by Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, it described the president’s political opponents as “wannabes.”
The reaction is coming days after El-Rufai and Amaechi, openly criticised Tinubu’s administration.
Dare advised the President’s “detractors” to wait for the 2027 polls to test their popularity.
He said in a post on X, “While President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria was away in far away Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, his political opponents, detractors, opposition elements, pseudo friends unfolded their Machiavellian inclinations.”
“Indeed, while the President was seeking solutions to Nigeria’s’ energy problems in Dar es Salaam, some “wannabes “were heating up the polity.
“Expectedly, it was a gathering convened to further spread ill will. Nothing new came out of the gathering different from the opposition script we are used to. A few of the participants went overboard in their vitriol, fanning the embers for adopting undemocratic actions.
“These political gladiators have antecedents that are well known. We urge Nigerians to begin their scrutiny early. And choose between political hecklers and real progressives. The clouds are beginning to clear. The stage sets soon. The combat begins.
“Until then, President Tinubu, an avowed democrat remains undistracted and unperturbed. The fight is ahead. Not now. The only conversation he wants to have now is how to improve the lives of Nigerian citizens and constructive discourse on building a resilient economy.”
El-Rufai on January 28 criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for “straying from its core values,” stating that he no longer recognises the party.
While addressing a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, he labelled the state of governance and opposition in the country as a “national emergency.”
He said, “I am the founding member of the APC. But frankly, I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years — no caucus, no NEC, nothing. I don’t even know if it is a one-man show. It is a zero-man show.”
Reacting to El-Rufai’s post, Daniel Bwala, the special adviser on policy communication to the President, questioned the former governor’s stance, asking if he would have held the same position were he part of President Tinubu’s cabinet.
“My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana,” Bwala wrote.
In his response, El-Rufai had dismissed Bwala’s remarks in a post on X, stating that he had no interest in joining Tinubu’s government.
“I was a cabinet minister 22 years ago and made it clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The manner in which you, latter-day converts to the Tinubu government, make an issue of something I never wanted in the first place reflects the level of your moral flexibility,” El-Rufai said.
The former governor insisted that his position on the APC and Tinubu’s administration would have remained the same, even if he had been part of the government.
“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I would still speak out about the tragedy within a party I helped found, and the government that emerged from it—first privately with those concerned, and then publicly if no remedial actions were taken,” he added.
El-Rufai also took a swipe at political loyalists, whom he accused of being paid to defend the government at all costs.
“I am responding to you because I still think you are a decent person who may need a job, not in the class of Wendell Simlin or that Kaduna pretender whom our voters retired in 2019. These clowns are political mercenaries who receive humongous monthly stipends from the security vote to be the first to jump on X and other platforms to defend everything the Asiwaju government does or fails to do, no matter how indefensible it may be,” he said.
He had advised Bwala to remember that allegiance to the Almighty and country should come before loyalty to any individual or authority.
“Enjoy your special adviser position, my brother, but remember that allegiance to God and country comes first in the human scale of accountability, before any person or authority.”
On his own, Amaechi had said the political class, including President Bola Tinubu, would not willingly cede power to the younger generation. He stressed that power must be fought for, noting that politicians often resort to extreme measures to win elections.
He had spoken during the week-long national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, which the African Centre organised for Leadership, Strategy and Development in Abuja.
Recounting his experience before the 2025 presidential election, which saw the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he attributed the former’s success to the determination and preparedness of the party’s leaders to go the extra mile.
The former minister noted that then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan only conceded defeat because he realised that the APC was well-prepared to defend its mandate. He asked citizens to adopt similar measures in future elections.
Earlier, Amaechi had slammed Tinubu on the way he removed fuel subsidy without providing cushioning measures like social housing and job creation, saying he would have handled the removal of fuel subsidy differently as President.
The former minister said he would have removed fuel subsidy with social housing and job creation as cushioning measures.
Amaechi had contested for the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential ticket in 2022 but lost to President Bola Tinubu.
On May 29, 2023, Tinubu announced an end to fuel subsidy during his presidential inauguration in Abuja.
However, speaking in Abuja, Amaechi maintained that removing fuel subsidy was unavoidable for any President.
The former Rivers State governor, however, faulted the timing and preparedness of Tinubu’s government in removing the subsidy.
According to Amaechi: “There is nobody that would have become president that would not have removed the subsidy. What I don’t know is what time was appropriate for the removal. How prepared was the Tinubu government when he announced the removal?
“My wife and children asked me what I would have done differently. My response was this: I would remove the subsidy, but I would not remove it without social housing.
“Why? With the money saved from subsidy removal and Naira devaluation, it could be used to build between 200,000 and 300,000 houses.
“If you build between 200,000 and 300,000 houses in the states, how many jobs have you created? At least 300,000 bricklayers, 300,000 carpenters, and 300,000 plumbers. By the time you do those things, what have you done? You have put money in the hands of the people.”
