Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
FG not aware of anti-Tinubu elements in Aso Villa alleged by Gov El-Rufai-Minister
The Federal Government has responded to allegations by the Kaduna State Governor ,Nasir El-Rufai that some elements within the presidency are working against the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
The Federal Government says it is not “officially aware” of any entity in the Presidential Villa working against the victory of the All Progressives Congress’ flag bearer, Bola Tinubu, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari was neither favouring nor disfavouring any presidential candidate ahead of the February 25 election.
“If there’s anybody who is working against any candidate, we don’t know officially,” the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, told State House Correspondents after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Mohammed restated President Buhar’s position on free, fair, and credible elections, and would neither favour nor disfavour any presidential candidate ahead of the February 25 election.
The Minister said, “If there’s anybody who is working against any candidate, we don’t know officially.’’
Recall that Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State had earlier on Wednesday while making an appearance on a Channels Television live programme, Sunrise Daily, claimed that some “elements” in the presidential villa are working against Tinubu’s emergence as President.
El-Rufai alleged that the persons in question were aggrieved that Tinubu defeated their preferred candidate in the June 2022 APC presidential primaries.
He also cited the naira redesign policy and even the controversial fuel subsidy scheme as some of several schemes targeted at the APC Presidential candidate, Tinubu, who also made a similar claim a week earlier.
The governor said, “If you were at our party, we didn’t promise that we were going to keep fuel subsidy or redesign the currency. It isn’t in our manifesto. You need to separate the personal decisions of some people in the villa from the manifesto of the party. It is important to understand that.
“Most of the people in the villa are not members of our party. I believe there are elements in the villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t have their way.
“They had their candidates, and their candidates didn’t win the primaries and I think they are still trying to get us to lose the election and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right. I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of Naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.’’
