The decision by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to appoint former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as deputy chairman of his 2027 Presidential Campaign Council was made partly to recognise El-Rufai’s sacrifices, according to African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Dele Momodu.
The campaign council, unveiled on Thursday by Atiku, is chaired by Kashim Ibrahim-Imam and features El-Rufai as deputy chairman, alongside prominent figures such as former APC National Chairman John Oyegun, Dino Melaye, and Momodu himself.
Momodu, who serves as Deputy Director-General of the campaign’s Media and Communications Directorate, addressed the appointment during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday. He argued that El-Rufai’s political weight remains vital as the opposition party prepares for the 2027 general elections, stating the pivotal role the former governor played in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2023 election victory.
“If not for him, I’m sure President Bola Tinubu would not be in office today,” Momodu said.
Addressing El-Rufai’s ongoing legal challenges, where the former governor denies all wrongdoing, Momodu described the bail conditions attached to the case as excessive. He noted that El-Rufai demonstrated his commitment to the nation by returning to Nigeria despite knowing he faced potential arrest.
“It is a way of honouring his sacrifice because his travails, I can say, are quite political in nature,” Momodu explained during the broadcast.
“He’s being held down not because he has committed any crime. He could have stayed away from the country. He chose to come back to the country. He knew he was going to be arrested, and he was arrested,” he said.
“The bail conditions given to him are so horrendous that even his enemies would wonder why he has to go through such a painful experience in the hands of a government that he helped to midwife,” Momodu added.