Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has openly declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term, distancing himself from his father’s recent defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Bello, who currently represents Kaduna North in the House of Representatives, was present at the APC National Summit in Abuja, where the party officially endorsed Tinubu as its sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election. This endorsement comes despite Nasir El-Rufai’s high-profile exit from the APC in March 2025, citing a loss of confidence in the party’s direction and vowing to unite the opposition through the SDP to challenge the APC in 2027.
The El-Rufai family’s political split has drawn significant public attention. Social commentator Reno Omokri mocked the situation, questioning Nasir El-Rufai’s ability to sway Nigerians if he could not even convince his own son to join his political cause:
“If El-Rufai can’t convince his son to leave Tinubu, how will he convince Nigerians?”
Tensions within the family have been apparent since last year, when another son, Bashir El-Rufai, criticized both Tinubu and Kaduna Governor Uba Sani on social media, predicting their defeat in 2027 and alleging that the probe into his father’s administration over alleged mismanagement of N423 billion was politically motivated.
Bashir tweeted:
“Nobody is too big to be ‘elected out of office’ by the people. It will happen & wallahi nothing will happen. So forget all these intimidations flying up and down. Let us be patient.”
Bello’s public support for Tinubu highlights the deepening political divisions within the El-Rufai family and underscores the complex landscape ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
