According to Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, Pastor Tunde Bakare was the one who persuaded him to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), not former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai disclosed that Bakare was the one who convinced him to join the party and presented him to Buhari.
The former governor, however, reportedly just defected from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), expressing dissatisfaction with the party’s leadership and strategy.
He accused the leaders of the APC of being primarily concerned with their own interests. “The government is commercialized; everything has a price tag,” he said.
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He went on to say, “Justice has been kept at bay, those who worked for the party were ignored instead of being compensated,” expressing even more discontent. For example, they assign a Lagos boy to any position or appointment.
“That is why we’ve been speaking, we spoke, we said this is not the party we know,” he stated, elaborating on his and others’ fears on the party’s downfall. There is no longer a party. I stated that since he forced me to join APC, my only choice was to meet with Pastor Tunde Bakare.
“He took me to Buhari,” El-Rufai said, reciting his conversation with Bakare prior to departing the celebration. It was Pastor Bakare who pulled me into the APC, and out of courtesy, I should inform him that I did not join the party because of Buhari.
He also asked Buhari for his blessings before leaving. I also asked Buhari for his blessings and prayers before telling him I was leaving the party. I have received his blessings and prayers, he said.
He acknowledged Buhari’s current position in his conclusion, saying, “We are the ones in politics, he (Buhari) is now father of the land and has been praying for us, so what remains?”
