Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai didn’t hold back in a recent Trust TV interview. Speaking from abroad while recovering from illness, he called Senate President Godswill Akpabio “a scumbag by every definition” and made it clear he doesn’t see him as “distinguished” at all.
“I do not consider him distinguished,” El-Rufai said. “We’ve known each other since the ’90s. He knows our history, and I’m qualified to call him a scumbag. He knows why.”
The sharp words came as the country argues over the Electoral Act amendment bill, specifically, whether real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units should be mandatory. The House passed it, but the Senate has stalled. El-Rufai says that’s no accident.
“Rigging doesn’t happen at polling units,” he explained. “It happens at collation centres. The ruling party knows they can’t win fairly, so they want to keep the ability to change results after people vote.”
He would have joined the National Assembly protest led by Peter Obi and others if he were in Nigeria. Instead, he pinned the problem directly on Akpabio, calling him “nothing but a lapdog” and urging senators to override their presiding officer when they reconvene.
El-Rufai is optimistic that the conference committee will recommend bringing back the electronic transmission clause. He believes most senators, many of them former governors and ministers, will vote for it out of self-preservation.
“If you have real support in your constituency, you want to win at the polling unit,” he said. “You don’t want the president or anyone altering results at collation. This is about their own survival.”
Even if President Tinubu withholds assent, El-Rufai thinks the National Assembly has the numbers for a veto override. Nigerians, he says, are watching closely and won’t forgive lawmakers who side with manipulation ahead of 2027.
He also used the interview to talk about the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition he’s part of. While it’s been quiet compared to the noisy buildup of the old APC in 2014–15, El-Rufai insists serious grassroots work is happening behind the scenes.
“We’re a coalition of individuals, not parties, so it takes time to settle,” he said. “But polls show we’re the preferred option for many Nigerians. Membership registration has started, congresses are coming, and we’ll soon have free and fair primaries, no zoning, no forced consensus.”
Defections of opposition governors to the APC don’t worry him. He sees it as a gift that makes 2027 a clear choice: “the gang of thieves” versus “the people of Nigeria.”
“Power comes from God, not from Tinubu,” he added. “Governors have only one vote. When the time comes, the people will decide.”
On his own relationship with Tinubu, El-Rufai was direct: they were never friends. He backed Tinubu’s 2023 candidacy because of the principle of rotating power to the South after Buhari’s eight years, not out of personal loyalty. Once in office, he says the administration’s focus on enrichment, cronyism, and tribalism clashed with everything he stands for.
El-Rufai promised to return to Nigeria soon and step back into the fray. Whether his prediction of a Senate rebellion against Akpabio comes true is still up in the air. But one thing is certain: the fight over credible elections in 2027 is getting more personal and more intense by the day.
What you should know
Nasir El-Rufai’s remarks highlight deepening cracks within Nigeria’s political elite as debates over electoral reforms intensify ahead of 2027.
The controversy centres on electronic transmission of results, widely seen as a safeguard against manipulation at collation centres.
His attack on Senate President Godswill Akpabio reflects wider frustrations among opposition figures who believe institutional resistance is aimed at preserving flawed electoral practices.
El-Rufai’s involvement in the ADC coalition also signals efforts to build an alternative political force, even as defections to the ruling party continue. The episode underscores rising political tensions as electoral credibility becomes a defining national issue.
