‘Bitter and frustrated’: Omokri blasts El-Rufai for attacking Ribadu

Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has accused former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of launching a baseless attack on National Security Adviser (NSA) Malam Nuhu Ribadu as part of a desperate political strategy. Omokri, in a statement shared on social media, criticised El-Rufai for attempting to discredit Ribadu by reviving a 2006 headline from Ribadu’s tenure as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). According to Omokri, El-Rufai’s move was an attempt to divert attention from his declining political influence. “Malam Nasir el-Rufai is frustrated. He lost out in Kaduna, where the Governor has wisely refused to be his Man Friday, and he lost out in becoming a minister after Kaduna residents raised several petitions against him,” Omokri stated. He further alleged that El-Rufai’s political decline was linked to allegations that he paid off killer herdsmen responsible for attacks in Southern Kaduna. Omokri defends Ribadu Defending Ribadu, Omokri insisted that the former EFCC chairman never directly accused any specific individual, including President Bola Tinubu, of corruption in 2006. He argued that Ribadu’s statement at the time was a general comment on the political atmosphere. “If you look at the so-called evidence El-Rufai displayed, it does not invalidate what Malam Ribadu said. He did not say Bola Tinubu was corrupt, investigated, or found guilty. He spoke about the general perception of governors at that time,” Omokri clarified. Describing El-Rufai’s attack as political opportunism, Omokri accused him of a pattern of shifting allegiances and undermining others to protect his own interests. “El-Rufai’s attacks on Ribadu are a classic case of projection, where a politician with low moral standards tries to bring down those with higher ethical grounds,” he concluded.