Speaker Abbas Mentions How El-Rufai Hurts Him: "It Is Unfortunate"

• The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has explained that his election to the third-highest office in Nigeria was opposed by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai
• Abbas stated that when President Bola Tinubu advised him to thank God for the opportunity, he responded that he also owed gratitude to Governor Uba Sani for his unwavering support
• Recall that El-Rufai had become a major critic of President Tinubu, the APC and Governor Sani, barely two years after his ministerial nomination was rejected for security reasons

Kaduna - Tajudeen Abbas, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has disclosed that the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, was strongly against his election into the office of the number three citizen in Nigeria.

Abbas, who was elected Speaker of the 10th National Assembly in 2023, explained that the previous administration in Kaduna, led by El-Rufai, was the first to strongly oppose his emergence as Speaker.

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The Zaria-born politician is representing Zaria Constituency in the House of Representatives. He recalled that it was the current Governor Uba Sani who strongly stood beside him in becoming the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Abbas described the action of El-Rufai as unfortunate, adding that he was surprised by the move. He explained that although President Bola Tinubu had advised him to thank God for the development, he believes it is equally important to express gratitude to Governor Uba Sani.

See the video of his comment here:

Recall that recently, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and El-Rufai have been spearheading efforts to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 general election. Both politicians have confirmed discussions among opposition leaders, solidifying their determination to challenge Tinubu in the next polls. El-Rufai's recent defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) followed his assertion that Tinubu and APC had strayed from their promises to Nigerians.

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How El-Rufai started criticising Tinubu, Sani

Since dumping the APC, El-Rufai has been a major critic of the ruling APC, President Tinubu and Governor Sani. The ruling party, on its part, has claimed that the former governor was being pained because he was denied a ministerial appointment under the Tinubu administration.

Tinubu had earlier nominated El-Rufai as a minister, but his nomination was rejected by the Senate, citing a security report against him. However, the former governor claimed that the Senate did not reject him.

He alleged that President Tinubu lost interest in him, and rather than withdrawing the nomination, his camp wanted to tarnish his image.

On his part, Governor Sani challenged his predecessor to test his popularity in the 2027 general election rather than criticising him and his party. He wondered how El-Rufai took a sharp turn against the APC and Tinubu in just two years.

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Reps move to set age limit to contest election

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu, his political rivals, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, might not be able to contest the 2027 general election as the House of Representatives moved to amend the Nigerian Constitution.

The House of Representatives recently passed, to the second reading, a bill seeking to bar Nigerians above the age of 60 from contesting presidential and gubernatorial elections.

Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi—political heavyweights—are all considered potential candidates in the 2027 general elections.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng