₦airaland Forum

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has taken a swipe at former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai over comments faulting the administration’s non-kinetic approach to addressing insecurity in the country.


Mr El-Rufai, in a recent Channels TV interview, faulted what he described as “kiss-the-bandits policy” under Mr Tinubu, accusing his administration of paying bandits and kidnappers in the name of a non-kinetic approach.

The former governor also claimed insecurity has worsened in Kaduna under Governor Uba Sani Uba’s watch, accusing his administration of empowering bandits.

Posting a snippet of the interview on X on Monday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga described Mr El-Rufai as a confused “master of ambivalence”, accusing him of leading the way in paying bandits and opposing the approach he once supported.

“Malam Nasir EL-Rufai is the master of ambivalence. Once upon a time, he supported and led the way in paying bandits to calm them. Today, in the name of politics, he opposes it,” Mr Onanuga wrote.

Mr El-Rufai’s administration as Kaduna governor was marked with security challenges, especially killings in Southern Kaduna and kidnapping for ransom.

Despite being accused of escalating the crises with his punitive policies, Mr El-Rufai, in the interview, boasted he dealt with the situation without paying bandits or kidnappers.

Meanwhile, Mr Sani dismissed the allegations as political mischief, saying his administration had never paid a dime to bandits.

https://gazettengr.com/el-rufai-master-of-ambivalence-paid-bandits-as-governor-tinubu-govt/

Leave elrufai alone and secure the lives of Nigerians that are killed daily by bandits and terrorists. Elrufai is now a private citizen!

Why is SW president and his gang now worried so much about elrufai who u claimed that has no political value. This simple means they are scared of what votes mallam can bring to the side of obi up north in 2027.
You people are not smart. We can read in-between the line.Since u saw mallam with obi it became a big worry. Who is the VP to SW president when it comes to terrorism history in nigeria. Why did he insist that he must be his vp in 2023

Streetinvestor2:
Why is SW president and his gang now worried so much about elrufai who u claimed that has no political value. This simple means they are scared of what votes mallam can bring to the side of obi up north in 2027.
You people are not smart. We can read in-between the line.Since u saw mallam with obi it became a big worry. Who is the VP to SW president when it comes to terrorism history in nigeria. Why did he insist that he must be his vp in 2023

Take it to the bank, Elrufai will set the motions that will lead to the defeat of Tinubu at the polls come 2027. They know it, he knows it.

@topic, Elrufai never paid bandits. His stance on how to deal with banditry has always been clear. "Carpet-bomb the bush and damn the consequences." The context of the interview which Bayo and crew lifted only a snippet was him confirming that Fulani herders who suffered losses when they were trapped in the aftermath of the 2011 post-election violence were compensated as recommended by a Federal government panel as well as a state panel he instituted headed by Martin-Luther Agwai, a respected son of Southern Kaduna.

Whoever is interested can watch the full video of the interview here. Bayo only succeeded in confirming to Nigerians that the FG is currently paying bandits as a security strategy.

A few days ago, when I said the media team of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are irresponsible and should be reporting to Dada Olusegun, a lot of you came for me, but frankly, “irresponsible” or “dumb” are the only words that can define this behavior, and I don't want to believe… https://t.co/QAWiJ9ehey pic.twitter.com/gsYZje24gq

— Mal. Imran U. Wakili (PULLO) 👑 #iSTANDWITHELRUFAI (@IU_Wakilii) September 9, 2025

Once upon a time, he supported and led the way in paying bandits to calm them. Today, in the name of politics, he opposes i

But where was Bayo Onanuga when Bola Tinubu, then APC presidential candidate, delegated questions to El Rufai on how his (Tinubu-led) government would address insecurity at Chatham House

Maxymilliano:
But where was Bayo Onanuga when Bola Tinubu, then APC presidential candidate, delegated questions to El Rufai on how his (Tinubu-led) government would address insecurity at Chatham House

That was during the campaign for Presidency while little was known. Can anyone deny the fact that El-Rufai was dropped base on security reports when he was screened for ministerial position?!

Maxymilliano:
But where was Bayo Onanuga when Bola Tinubu, then APC presidential candidate, delegated questions to El Rufai on how his (Tinubu-led) government would address insecurity at Chatham House

Pay no mind to the snakes. They have only succeeded in exposing themselves to the rest of Nigerians.