Elrufai Said He’s Buharist With No Apology, When Buhari Crossed The Line,He Took FG To Court—Abubakar Ibrahim

Abubakar Ibrahim, a fellow of the Kashim Ibrahim Institute, has dismissed claims that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is acting out of personal political interest following his recent criticisms of the current administration.

Speaking during an interview on News Central TV on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, Ibrahim responded to questions about El-Rufai’s past support for the administration and allegations that his current stance may be influenced by not securing a position in government.

When asked to react to views describing the former governor as a political turncoat, Ibrahim said, “No, you don’t forget. Malam Nasir El-Rufai has publicly said that he is Buharist, with no apology. But don’t forget, when Buhari crossed the line, he took the federal government to court.”

He continued, “So, we need politicians who have courage to remain on the side of the truth, irrespective of who is wrong. You know, we have people today who don’t have the courage to challenge federal government or their political leaders when they do something wrong. Because most of them are not clean, and they don’t have the track records and the professionalism and integrity to even disagree with the government or anybody. So, you always follow the same.”

Pressed further on whether El-Rufai’s actions were motivated by national interest or personal political gain, Ibrahim replied, “In the interest of Nigerians, of course. A lot of people think that just because he was not appointed minister. But let’s just discuss this issue. We all know that Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai has never failed Nigerians or anybody, whenever any responsibility is assigned to him.”

He added, “Do you think the situation will have been the same if he is a minister of power now? Before we started this interview, I think 10 minutes, we had power outage. So, he had the courage to confront the problem.”

Ibrahim also referenced a past engagement between the president and the former governor: “And don’t forget that the president went to Kaduna State on live TV and begged him to work with him. So, I don’t think it’s personal.”

He concluded by urging restraint in public reactions and institutional processes: “But a lot of Nigerians are handling these issues on personal ground and emotions. That’s why even political institutions like the EFCC and ICPC, for me, as a concerned Nigerian, I’m urging them to forget about the emotions out there….. Discover More