Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has said he never enjoyed a personal friendship with President Bola Tinubu, noting that his support for Tinubu’s presidential bid was based on principle rather than personal ties.

Speaking during an interview on Daily Trust Television, el-Rufai said the widespread belief that he and Tinubu were close allies was incorrect, stressing that they never had a cordial relationship, even before Tinubu emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in 2022.

“There is an assumption that I was ever Tinubu’s friend. I was not. We never got along. We never had a personal relationship like the one I had with General Buhari,” he said.

El-Rufai explained that his decision to back Tinubu was influenced by appeals from some Islamic leaders in the South-West to support a Muslim presidential candidate from the region, as well as his belief in the APC’s informal power-rotation agreement that the presidency should shift to the South after Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.

“For me, Tinubu was initially just an aspirant. I was approached by some Islamic stakeholders from the South-West and asked to support a South-West Muslim candidate. That was how the discussion started,” he said.

“I also knew that after Buhari’s eight years, power was expected to go to the South. It was a matter of principle. Tinubu simply became the beneficiary.”

He added that once Tinubu emerged as the APC flagbearer, party loyalty required him to campaign for the candidate.

“When Tinubu won the primaries, it became my duty to support the party’s candidate, whether I liked him or not,” el-Rufai said.

The former Federal Capital Territory minister dismissed claims of a dramatic fallout between him and the president, saying they simply failed to agree on major issues.

“I don’t think we fell out. We just couldn’t find areas of agreement. There was no equilibrium,” he said.

El-Rufai further claimed that even if he had joined Tinubu’s cabinet, he would have resigned long ago due to what he described as fundamental differences in philosophy.

“The philosophy of this government is contrary to everything I was taught as a Muslim, a northerner and as a Nigerian,” he said, accusing the administration of prioritising self-enrichment over public service.