The Presidency has dismissed claims by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that President Bola Tinubu plans to extend his tenure beyond 2031, describing the allegation as “baseless and absurd.”
In a statement on Monday, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu remains committed to democratic principles and will not remain in office beyond May 28, 2031, if re-elected in 2027.
El-Rufai, during a solidarity visit from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accused the Tinubu administration of veering toward authoritarianism and compared the President to Cameroon’s Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982.
He also alleged that Tinubu’s government was centralizing power at the expense of federal principles, warning that such a trend threatened Nigeria’s democratic foundation.
Onanuga countered that El-Rufai’s claims were politically motivated and a reflection of the futility of his alleged plot to unseat the President in 2027. He said the massive reception Tinubu received in Kaduna last Friday demonstrated the depth of support the President enjoys in the North, contrary to El-Rufai’s narrative.
“President Tinubu is a democrat who does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027,” Onanuga stated. He added that El-Rufai may benefit from “professional counselling” to steer him away from “hallucinations and political fabrications” about Tinubu and 2027.
