Former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, says he and other politicians supported President Bola Tinubu for the 2023 elections despite knowing about the issues around his academic records at the Chicago University in the US.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, el-Rufai who recently defected from APC to SDP, said they supported Tinubu because of his performance as the governor of Lagos and the belief that he could replicate the same as a president.

“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well, because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges.

We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed,” he said

El-Rufai also addressed speculations about his presidential ambition in the 2027 election, saying the decision lies not with him but with his party and the people.

“It is not for me to decide, it is the party and the people that will decide. Even when I was contesting for governor, it was people that met and convinced (Muhammadu) Buhari, and he called me and asked me to contest.”

El-Rufai has been critical of Tinubu’s administration since the senate declined to confirm him as minister.