The Presidency has denied claims by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that President Bola Tinubu is seeking to make himself a “life president,” insisting that the President has no plan to remain in office beyond 2031 if re-elected.
El-Rufai, speaking over the weekend, asked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to unite Nigerians against Tinubu in 2027, accusing the current administration of concentrating authority rather than devolving it to lesser levels.
“If we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya, to be president for life. All the signs are there; this is how Paul Biya started,” El-Rufai said.
In a statement released on Sunday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga condemned El-Rufai’s remarks as “unfounded claims and speculations.”
He said, “It is increasingly evident that El-Rufai has recognized the futility of attempts by his associates in his new party to prevent President Tinubu’s likely re-election in 2027. This plot is proving to be unattainable, a mission doomed to fail.”
Onanuga mentioned that Tinubu’s popularity remains strong, especially in the North, citing the reception he received in Kaduna last Friday.
According to Onanuga, the former Kaduna governor “resorted to spreading further unfounded stories, including the claim that President Tinubu intends to become a ‘life president’ because of Tinubu’s reception in the Northwest state.
“This stands in stark contrast to El-Rufai’s narrative that the region has abandoned the president,” he said.
The presidency also slammed the former Kaduna governor’s idea of a plan to extend tenure as “baseless and absurd.”
Onanuga stressed, “President Tinubu is a democrat who does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027.”
He added that Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani might need to reach out to his predecessor, as “El-Rufai could benefit from some professional counselling to steer him away from his recent hallucinations and political fabrications on Tinubu and 2027.
