Hadiza El-Rufai, the wife of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has publicly rebuked her son, Bashir, for criticizing the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The family dispute unfolded on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, following a post by Bashir questioning the handling of public criticism by the president’s media team.
Bashir El-Rufai’s comments stemmed from a recent controversy involving former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s remarks about the 2023 elections.
In a statement on Sunday, Obasanjo referred to the elections as a “travesty” and suggested that Nigeria needed new, credible leaders for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore trust in the institution.
The presidency reacted strongly to Obasanjo’s statements, with Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson for President Tinubu, accusing the former president of overseeing Nigeria’s “most fraudulent election” in history.
Onanuga also blamed Obasanjo for poor economic decisions that have impacted subsequent administrations.
Bashir El-Rufai weighed in on the issue, calling Tinubu’s media team “ineffectual clowns” for attacking Obasanjo, particularly given the country’s economic challenges, such as a 33% inflation rate.
His comment drew attention and sparked several reactions, including a response from his mother.
In a direct challenge, Hadiza El-Rufai asked her son if he would be making such comments if his father were still part of the current government.
Bashir, unperturbed, responded that his father would have already resigned due to the administration’s perceived failures, suggesting that Nasir El-Rufai would have distanced himself from the government altogether.
The online exchange between mother and son has since garnered significant attention, indicating the tension within the influential El-Rufai family over the direction of Nigeria’s current leadership.