In a blunt and blistering revelation, Senator Ali Ndume has accused former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai of political betrayal and suggested that his current fallout with President Bola Tinubu is karma playing out in real time.
Appearing on Arise News on Tuesday, Ndume — a senior APC figure and Director-General of Rotimi Amaechi’s 2022 presidential campaign — didn’t hold back as he recalled how El-Rufai jumped ship during the most critical phase of the APC primaries.
“El-Rufai was with us. He pledged to support Amaechi,” Ndume said with clear disdain. “But when Tinubu came calling, he switched sides without warning. He didn’t just defect — he went full throttle for Tinubu. Mobilized, lobbied, everything.”
Ndume said he often reflects on the betrayal and can’t help but feel El-Rufai is now getting a taste of his own medicine.
“Sometimes I sit back and think, ‘You did it to us, and now you’re feeling the sting.’ That’s politics. Actions have consequences.”
El-Rufai was famously one of Amaechi’s strongest allies until the tide of political opportunity swayed him toward Tinubu. His sudden shift, which came shortly after Amaechi’s consultation visit to Kaduna, marked a sharp turn in allegiance — and one Ndume says the former governor has never truly accounted for.
“He abandoned our camp when it mattered most. And now? He’s been pushed aside by the very system he fought for,” Ndume added.
After Tinubu’s election victory, El-Rufai was nominated for a ministerial role, only to be rejected by the Senate — a moment that reportedly shocked many within the APC elite. Ndume, who was then Chief Whip, said El-Rufai’s screening was almost ceremonial.
“We were ready to let him take a bow and go. But somehow, something shifted — and he didn’t make the cut.”
Since then, El-Rufai has walked away from the APC, embraced the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and aligned himself with critics of the Tinubu administration — a political U-turn that has raised eyebrows and drawn battle lines.
Ndume, however, is unfazed.
“I don’t know exactly what went wrong between him and Tinubu. That’s no longer my business. But if you betray your own, don’t be surprised when the house you helped build won’t let you in.”
The senator’s remarks now add fuel to the growing fire within Nigeria’s political landscape, where shifting loyalties and personal ambition continue to redraw alliances in real time.