A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has said former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar appointed former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as deputy chairman of his 2027 presidential campaign council partly to recognise what he described as El-Rufai’s political sacrifices.
Momodu, who serves as Deputy Director-General of the campaign’s Media and Communications Directorate, made the comments during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday.
Atiku unveiled his campaign council on Thursday, naming Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as chairman and El-Rufai as deputy chairman.
Explaining the decision, Momodu said the appointment was intended, in part, to acknowledge what he described as the former Kaduna governor’s political difficulties.
“It is a way of honouring his sacrifice because his travails, I can say, are quite political in nature,” Momodu said.
He also pointed to El-Rufai’s decision to return to Nigeria despite, according to him, knowing that he could face arrest as evidence of the former governor’s commitment to the country.
“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,” Momodu said.
El-Rufai is currently facing legal proceedings and has denied wrongdoing. Momodu criticised the bail conditions imposed in the case, describing them as excessive.
“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,” he said.
Momodu also spoke about El-Rufai’s political influence, claiming that the former governor played a significant role in President Bola Tinubu’s emergence as president in the 2023 election.
“If not for him, I’m sure President Bola Tinubu would not be in office today,” he said.
According to Momodu, El-Rufai’s inclusion in the campaign structure reflects his political relevance and the role he could play as the ADC prepares for the 2027 general elections.
Other members of the campaign council include former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman John Oyegun, Momodu, Dino Melaye and other political figures and party stakeholders.
