Controversy: El-Rufai Accuses Tinubu of 'Life Presidency' Plan, Presidency Responds With Deadline

The Presidency has moved to quash growing speculation over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's political ambitions, insisting that the Nigerian leader has no plan to remain in power beyond 2031.

This clarification came in response to a bombshell allegation from former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who over the weekend accused Tinubu of plotting to extend his stay in power indefinitely.

El-Rufai, in what many analysts have described as one of his most daring political shots, likened Tinubu to Cameroon's Paul Biya, a president who has clung to power for more than four decades. He warned that if opposition figures like Atiku Abubakar fail to unite in 2027, Tinubu might attempt to entrench himself in office permanently.

"If we don't come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya, to be president for life. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,ÔÇØ El-Rufai declared.

But the Presidency wasted no time in hitting back. In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga dismissed El-Rufai's claims as "baseless, absurd, and a desperate attempt to mislead Nigerians.ÔÇØ

Onanuga stressed that Tinubu remains a democrat with a clear constitutional timetable. "President Tinubu does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027. There is no plan, hidden or otherwise, for tenure elongation. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and malicious,ÔÇØ he said.

According to him, El-Rufai's latest outburst is a reflection of frustration, as efforts by his new political camp to block Tinubu's path to a second term have collapsed. He pointed out that the President's growing popularity in the North, evidenced by his rousing reception in Kaduna last Friday, proves that El-Rufai's "Paul Biya narrativeÔÇØ is nothing but political mischief.

Analysts believe this confrontation marks a new phase in the Tinubu-El-Rufai political rivalry. While El-Rufai is openly warning of authoritarian tendencies, the Presidency insists that Nigeria's constitution already sets Tinubu's exit date at May 28, 2031, with no room for extension.

The controversy, however, has sparked heated debate among Nigerians, with many questioning whether promises from the political elite can be trusted, given the country's history of shifting political goalposts.