The Citizens Collective for Good Governance (CCGG) has fired back at former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, describing his recent remarks against President Bola Tinubu as bitter fallout from his failure to secure a ministerial role.
In a statement released on the 24th of June, 2025, signed by the group’s president, Gambo Abdulkadri, the CCGG accused El-Rufai of launching “a desperate and vindictive campaign” against the president, stemming from his exclusion from the federal cabinet.
El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and two-term governor of Kaduna, recently told Arise Television that President Tinubu would need a “miracle” to win in 2027.
He also claimed the president’s disapproval rating had hit 91 percent figures the CCGG labelled “fabricated and delusional.”
Abdulkadri said, “The public outburst by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is nothing but the cry of a political actor whose ego was bruised when President Tinubu, in his wisdom, declined to reward him with a ministerial position.”
He added that El-Rufai’s actions betrayed personal ambition rather than commitment to public service.
“For someone who claims to have supported the president’s emergence, El-Rufai’s sudden antagonism only confirms that his loyalty was never to the country, nor to good governance, but to his own ambition,” he stated.
The group pointed to Tinubu’s “clear-headed governance,” citing initiatives like the removal of fuel subsidy, fiscal reforms, anti-corruption efforts, and policies aimed at food security and employment.
“Within just over a year, President Tinubu has taken bold and necessary decisions to reset Nigeria’s economy, from ending fuel subsidy fraud to restructuring our fiscal regime,” the statement read.
Highlighting projects like the agricultural mechanisation programme, the student loan scheme, infrastructure renewal, and investment drive, the group insisted Tinubu’s presidency is about long-term national interest.
The CCGG also took aim at El-Rufai’s legacy, accusing him of leaving behind a troubled Kaduna State.
“Let’s not forget the mass displacement of communities under El-Rufai’s watch, or the reckless borrowing and ethnically polarised governance that characterised his tenure.
He has no moral standing to accuse anyone of failure,” Abdulkadri stated.
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The group dismissed the former governor’s polling claims as “a phantom poll conducted in the basement of his resentment,” and said President Tinubu still enjoys wide support.
“Despite the challenges, millions of Nigerians, market women, youth groups, professionals, and even opposition figures, continue to express confidence in the leadership of President Tinubu.
“His vision is clear, his approach is bold, and the results are beginning to show,” the group said.
It urged citizens to reject “El-Rufai’s politics of self-interest and sabotage” and stay focused on performance, not propaganda.
“El-Rufai should be reminded that governance is not an entitlement scheme. If the president chose to exclude him from the federal cabinet, it was within his constitutional right and strategic discretion. You cannot throw tantrums because you didn’t get picked for a position, that is not patriotism, that is pettiness,” the group said.
The statement concluded with a call to political leaders to rise above personal disputes and support Nigeria’s development.
“We urge the Nigerian people to ignore voices of distraction and stand firmly behind a government that is working to secure our future,” it added.