El Rufai ‘insults’ Osinbajo – déjà vu


ALL is not well between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the man widely referred to as the “unofficial vice president”, Mallam Nasir el Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State. Proof: after a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held on 17th September, 2015, el Rufai showed up in Osinbajo’s office and both took a photograph, all smiles; and splashed them all over the internet. Purpose: to debunk the “rumours” making the rounds that they had exchanged insults. To confirm the story further, a meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) a couple of days ago tabled as an item for discussion/resolution the “face-off” between Osinbajo and el Rufai.
El Rufai has been throwing his weight around since Buhari emerged as President of Nigeria. He is widely reputed to have been behind the double shuffle we saw on the last day of Professor Attahiru Jega as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Remember, Jega at the expiration of his tenure, had handed over to Alhaji Ahmed Wali as the Acting National Chairman. Barely six hours after that a letter from President Buhari ordered Wali to hand over to Hajiya Amina Zakari, a perceived close relation, to act as National Chairman. This was in total contravention of the law; an illegality that subsists till today when Zakari is preparing to conduct the Bayelsa and Kogi State governorship elections. Fingers pointed to el Rufai for carrying out the “coup” which is liable to compromise the independence of the INEC. It could feather Buhari and his APC’s political nest and compromise the integrity of our future elections.
El Rufai is also believed to be the brain behind the appointment of Mallam Abba Kyari as the Chief of Staff to the President. He also reportedly got the founder of the #Bringback Our Girls campaigners (one of the outfits used to hound former President Goodluck Jonathan out of power), Hadiza Bala Usman a seat on Buhari’s Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption. There is hardly any trip Buhari considers important that el Rufai does not abandon his governorship job in Kaduna to accompany him to. And there is virtually no important meeting that Buhari convenes that el Rufai does not attend as a close confidant and adviser. El Rufai is having a time of his life as the younger Northern brain that Buhari draws from to rule Nigeria.
This is not the first time he is enjoying this run of power in Aso Villa. Remember his days with former President Olusegun Obasanjo? He came into the Obasanjo government through the good graces of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who made him the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). But when the power struggle between Obasanjo and Atiku turned nasty and no-holds-barred, el Rufai nipped over to Obasanjo. His influence rapidly grew, and the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, once described him as ‘the de facto No. 2 official” in the Obasanjo presidency.






For the full story, check the Vanguard newspaper.










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