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Dogecoin, the original meme coin, has seen a sharp decline, falling to $0.225 per coin after a 7% drop in the past 24 hours.
The price dipped as low as $0.2239, nearing its lowest point of 2025. Over the past week, DOGE has lost nearly 18% of its value, making it one of the worst-performing top cryptocurrencies.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez, who previously predicted a $4 price target for Dogecoin, now warns that the coin could fall further if it loses a key support level.
"Is Dogecoin following PEPE? If so, a breakdown below $0.31 could trigger a correction toward $0.20 for DOGE!" Martinez wrote on X.
He also pointed out that network activity has dropped to its lowest level since October 2024, with only 66 whale transactions and fewer than 60,000 active addresses per day.
Can Dogecoin hold above $0.19?
Despite the recent downturn, Martinez suggests that if Dogecoin maintains a key support level, it could see another rally.
“Dogecoin has been trading inside an ascending channel since 2014. Dogecoin has tended to rebound from this channel's lower support trendline to the resistance trendline. From this level, it tends to drop back to the support trendline and then rebound again, repeating the whole cycle,” he explained.
"Dogecoin recently rebounded from the support trend line. If history repeats as long as Dogecoin holds above 19 cents, it could rally to the resistance trend line at around $4," he added.
Market sentiment turns bearish
Dogecoin was flying high just months ago after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk reignited interest in the meme coin. In December, DOGE hit a three-year high of $0.48, but it has since fallen significantly.
DOGE remains the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap but has been struggling alongside the broader meme coin market.
Data from CoinGecko shows that nearly every major meme token is in the red. Shiba Inu (SHIB) is down 9% in the last 24 hours, while Pepe (PEPE) and Bonk (BONK) have lost over 14% each.
Adding to the bearish outlook, open interest in Dogecoin has dropped to just $2.16 billion, the lowest level of the year, according to CoinGlass. This suggests traders are losing confidence in the coin's ability to rebound.
Dogecoin remains a significant part of Musk’s influence in the crypto space. The billionaire, who once fueled its rallies with tweets, now runs a U.S. government department called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
[TheStreet]
Will the biggest and best-known crypto assets of today, like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), continue to hold up against newer players like Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), or will they go the way of the dodo?
To address this question, let's examine how and why these two coins might flourish during the coming decade and which is more likely to provide a good return for investors.
Bitcoin is about to get a shot in the arm
You're probably already familiar with the investment thesis for Bitcoin: It's a asset with a firm supply cap that's hard for any given set of actors to control or disrupt. There can only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in circulation (about 19.8 million now circulate), which means that it should, in theory, maintain its purchasing power against fiat currencies. Furthermore, because it gets more and more difficult to mine over time, there's a structural basis for rising prices, as any increase in demand will be chasing less and less supply. Notably, its blockchain doesn't need to be upgraded at all for this process to occur.
That thesis calls for the asset to be continually relevant over the long term, even longer than the decade we're thinking about right now. During the last 10 years, Bitcoin's price has risen by a mind-boggling 41,640%, suggesting that there was indeed some real meat on the bone.
The coin could soon be getting a big catalyst, too. People around the globe already hold it, but now many states and countries are buying it to hold as part of their asset mix. In the U.S., there's even a proposal for it to be the biggest holding in a hypothetical national cryptocurrency repository. That would represent perhaps the final frontier of mainstream acceptance and adoption.
But here's the thing. Bitcoin doesn't need to be included on any government's balance sheet for its thesis to keep playing out. That makes it a very compelling asset.
Keeping pace with a glacier is harder than it sounds
Cardano's appeal is very different from Bitcoin's.
Cardano was created to address many of the problems associated with Ethereum, specifically its technical constraints, which kept Ethereum's gas (user) fees high and its transaction times too long. Cardano's solution is a slow development cycle that relies heavily on collaboration, consensus, and peer review to bypass Ethereum's problems and provide a consistent framework for users and developers on the chain to work within.
So Cardano's investment thesis is essentially that its better technical leadership and more careful planning process will let it unseat Ethereum and other blockchains over time by undercutting them and outperforming their ecosystems. If this turns out to be true, a blossoming set of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects on its chain would be a key sign, along with plenty of trading volume. And as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, it isn't a laggard.
But this is a case where the long-term view does not necessarily favor buying the coin.
After all, technical innovation is not necessary for Bitcoin's thesis to continue working and generating value. For Cardano, winning against other chains over time is the only way forward -- and that's a tall order. The longer you look, the more precarious Cardano's position seems, as it will likely need to fend off more and more contenders for its share of the cryptocurrency sector.
So investors should probably go with Bitcoin if they're interested in buying and holding a coin for the next 10 years. Even if Cardano does well for a while, it's hard to see it outpacing Bitcoin over the long run.
[The Motley Fool ]
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet announced on Tuesday that it has acquired an additional 135 Bitcoin, investing approximately $12.9 million in the top crypto. This latest purchase brings the company's total holdings to 2,235 BTC, a significant increase from 1,761 BTC at the end of 2023 and 141 BTC recorded at the end of June 2024.
The acquisition was made at an average price of 14.3 million yen, or about $95,951 per Bitcoin. Metaplanet has outlined a strategic goal to increase its total Bitcoin holdings to 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025, with a longer-term target of 21,000 BTC by the end of 2026.
This move underscores the firm's commitment to its Bitcoin treasury operations, which it officially designated as a core business line in December 2024.
Despite the positive trajectory of its Bitcoin investments, Metaplanet's stock experienced a decline of 1.3% during midday trading on Tuesday.
However, the company's stock price has seen substantial gains, rising 67.5% since the beginning of 2025 and climbing 233.7% over the past year, according to data from Google Finance.
Metaplanet's ongoing accumulation strategy reflects a growing trend among institutional investors in the cryptocurrency market. As firms increasingly recognize the potential of Bitcoin as a long-term asset, Metaplanet's aggressive purchasing strategy positions it as a notable player in the evolving landscape of digital currencies.
[Coin Market Cap]
Bitcoin tumbled below $90,000 to hit the lowest level since mid-November, as the rally that followed Donald Trump’s election to the White House reverses under the weight of his trade tariffs and a string of industry setbacks.
Bitcoin dropped as much as 7.6% and traded around $89,0420 at 7:51 a.m. New York on Tuesday. Other cryptocurrencies also fell, with Ether, XRP and Solana down sharply for the session. An index tracking top digital tokens was on pace for its largest four-day drop since early August.
The recent turmoil in digital assets is a stark shift from the risk-on rally that drove crypto markets higher following Trump’s election in early November. Bitcoin has tumbled roughly 20% since his January inauguration, as Trump’s combative stance against allies and geopolitical rivals alike shakes investor confidence, and concerns about elevated inflation linger.
“The fall in Bitcoin prices is likely related to broader macro uncertainty that has hit most financial markets in the last couple of days and is linked to the various tariffs being announced by President Trump,” said Adrian Przelozny, chief executive of crypto exchange Independent Reserve.
Tumbling crypto prices mirror a broader retreat from risky assets that gained momentum late last week when a string of disappointing economic reports pushed the Nasdaq 100 to what is now its worst three-day drop in two months. In turn, money has flowed into bond havens, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield down for five straight sessions.
Exchange-traded fund investors, whose hand-over-fist buying helped power the post-election crypto advance, have been stepping back. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker IBIT), the largest spot Bitcoin fund, shed $158 million on Monday in a rare outflow, while investors pulled nearly $250 million from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund — the third-largest withdrawal among all ETFs. More than $956 million has exited from US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs in February, the worst month on record for the category, Bloomberg Intelligence data show.
In derivatives markets, more than $1.34 billion of bullish crypto positions were liquidated over a 24-hour period, according to data on CoinGlass.
Memecoins, Giant Hack
Sentiment has also soured following a series of recent industry-specific setbacks, including the biggest-ever crypto hack targeting exchange Bybit and a memecoin scandal involving Argentina’s President Javier Milei. That helps explain why digital coins have underperformed other risk assets like technology stocks in recent weeks.
The Bybit hack, in particular, has added to fears about the safety of digital-asset platforms. Hackers which analysts say are linked to North Korea made off with about $1.5 billion of Ether in last week’s attack and have started quickly laundering the haul. Several researchers say the heist revealed a rising level of sophistication among North Korea’s army of hackers.
Memecoins launched by Trump and his wife Melania just before the inauguration have also performed poorly, undermining confidence in his pro-crypto policies. The Trump token has tumbled more than 80% since peaking almost immediately after he launched it, based on CoinGecko data.
“The Bybit hack was the latest in a string of events, such as questionable memecoin launches, that have brought back unhappy memories for crypto market participants,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of liquidity for crypto derivatives.
[ Bloomberg]
Microsoft has made an undisclosed equity investment in Veeam Software as part of an expanded partnership to build artificial intelligence products, the cloud data company said on Tuesday.
Veeam's software is designed to help customers quickly recover their data after cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks or accidental data loss.
Its core product supports immutable backups to prevent ransomware from modifying or deleting data, ensuring that clean copies remain available for recovery even if hackers encrypt files.
Microsoft had invested in cybersecurity firm Rubrik in 2021, which also offers data backup and recovery solutions.
Veeam said it would focus on research and development investments and design collaboration, among others, with the support of Microsoft. It will also integrate Microsoft's AI services into its products.
U.S. private equity firm Insight Partners, which is the largest shareholder in Veeam, sold a $2 billion stake in the company in a secondary sale valuing the firm at $15 billion, it said in December last year.
Veeam was acquired by Insight Partners for about $5 billion in 2020.
Founded in 2006, Veeam has more than 550,000 customers globally including corporations such as Deloitte and Canon, according to its website.
[Reuters]
Coinbase, Strategy lead crypto stocks lower as bitcoin tumbles below $90,000 for first time since November
Admin
Crypto stocks sank across the board early Tuesday as bitcoin (BTC-USD) dropped below $90,000 for the first time since November. Crypto heavyweights Strategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN) led the declines.
Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin (formerly known as MicroStrategy), dropped more than 5%, extending the prior day’s roughly 6% decline. Crypto exchange platform Coinbase sank as much as 3%, while crypto mining companies including Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Marathon Digital (MARA) fell more than 4%.
NasdaqGS - Nasdaq Real Time Price•USD
MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR)
Those declines were driven by Bitcoin’s nearly 7% plummet Tuesday to just under $89,000, its lowest level since Nov. 14. The cryptocurrency is down nearly 15% over the past month, reversing direction after a massive rally following the election of US President Donald Trump. Trump’s crypto-friendly stance had sent Bitcoin above $100,000 last December. In January, it hit a record high of more than $109,000.
Bitcoin USD (BTC-USD)
But macroeconomic uncertainty surrounding US interest rates and Trump’s tariff policies have fueled fears of inflation staying higher for longer, pressuring stocks across the board. And industry controversy has pressured crypto stocks in particular: the crypto exchange Bybit fell prey to the largest crypto heist in history last week, with hackers stealing $1.5 billion in digital assets. Trump and First Lady Melania’s recently-launched meme coins have also crashed.
Bitcoin’s declines Tuesday were mirrored by other cryptocurrencies. Ether (ETH-USD) fell 10%, while Solana (SOL-USD) dropped nearly 13%.
Leading crypto stock Strategy was one of the biggest losers of bitcoin’s drop, as the company said Monday that it had purchased an additional $2 billion in bitcoin, meaning it’s spent more than $33 billion buying up the cryptocurrency since 2020 and now owns roughly half a million bitcoins.
[Yahoo.Finance]
The Federal Government has introduced a new policy requiring contractors to provide an active Advance Payment Guarantee (APG) and a performing performance bond before receiving payments from the Ministry of Works.
An APG ensures that funds advanced to contractors are used for the project, while a performance bond guarantees the contractor will complete the project as agreed.
This new payment policy aims to enhance accountability and quality in road construction across Nigeria.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced the policy during the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Stakeholders’ Meeting on Sunday, 23rd February 2025, in Lagos. He explained that the policy is designed to secure funds for repairs if contractors fail to address defects within the liability period.
Umahi emphasized that the new policy would be implemented for all ongoing and future projects under the Ministry of Works.
“Any payment made by the Ministry of Works will now require an active Advance Payment Guarantee (APG) and a performing performance bond. This ensures that if a contractor fails to fix defects within the liability period, we will have the resources to carry out the repairs,” Umahi stated.
The minister made the announcement while giving an update on RCC’s ongoing work on Section 2 of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which faced significant failures on the Ibadan-bound lane.
More insight
The minister provided updates on the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway construction, which is divided into two main phases with multiple sections.
Phase 1 includes Section 1, constructed by Julius Berger, spanning about 43 km with three lanes dualised. Although minor failures were recorded, Umahi noted that they had been successfully repaired without major delays.
- Section 2, managed by RCC, encountered significant failures on the Ibadan-bound lane, leading to ongoing repairs. Umahi revealed that RCC has been directed to engage in further discussions to resolve the issues. He added that approximately 8.5 km of this section remains incomplete, with an expected completion by April and commissioning planned for May.
- Phase 2 involves completing flyover heads at strategic locations, including the RCCG axis, Wawa axis, Ogun Bridge, and Arepo Bridge. It also includes a 12 km dual carriage stretch at Sagamu-Iperu, currently under construction using rigid pavement.
Additionally, a 48 km stretch to Ore will be reworked, with the contract anticipated to be awarded by March. According to Umahi, completing this phase will conclude the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project at the Ibadan axis.
[Nairametrics]
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the remand of three workers from the Lagos State House of Assembly in the custody of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) over an alleged assault on its officers.
Naija News reports that Justice Daniel Osiagor issued the directive for the detention of Ibrahim Olanrewaju, Adetu Adekunle, and Fatimoh Adetola after the DSS counsel, Mr. Michael Bajela, sought their arraignment. However, the judge decided to review the case file before proceeding further.
According to the charge sheet marked FHC/L/273C/2025, dated February 24, 2025, and filed on Tuesday, the DSS accused the three individuals, along with others still at large, of conspiring to assault State Security Service officers while they were performing their official duties.
The agency alleged that on February 17, 2025, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, the defendants obstructed DSS officers from carrying out their duties without any lawful justification.
They were also charged with cyberstalking, with the prosecution alleging that they recorded and disseminated false information on social media, spreading it nationwide with the intent of inciting public disorder.
The DSS further claimed that Ibrahim Olanrewaju, Adetu Adekunle, and Fatimoh Adetola conspired to commit a felony by deliberately misdirecting electronic messages on social media to embarrass the agency and its officials.
Additionally, the prosecution accused Ibrahim Olanrewaju and Adetu Adekunle of using an iPhone 12 Pro Max to record and share misleading content online, allegedly intending to discredit the DSS and provoke public unrest.
The charge also stated that Adetu Adekunle, on or about February 17, 2025, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, used a Techno POP 8 to record and circulate false information on social media with the alleged intent to undermine the DSS and disrupt public order.
The offences, as outlined by the DSS, violate Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as well as Sections 27(1)(b), 24(1)(b), 24(c)(i), and 11 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended), 2024.
[NaijaNews]
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the remand of three workers from the Lagos State House of Assembly in the custody of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) over an alleged assault on its officers.
Naija News reports that Justice Daniel Osiagor issued the directive for the detention of Ibrahim Olanrewaju, Adetu Adekunle, and Fatimoh Adetola after the DSS counsel, Mr. Michael Bajela, sought their arraignment. However, the judge decided to review the case file before proceeding further.
According to the charge sheet marked FHC/L/273C/2025, dated February 24, 2025, and filed on Tuesday, the DSS accused the three individuals, along with others still at large, of conspiring to assault State Security Service officers while they were performing their official duties.
The agency alleged that on February 17, 2025, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, the defendants obstructed DSS officers from carrying out their duties without any lawful justification.
They were also charged with cyberstalking, with the prosecution alleging that they recorded and disseminated false information on social media, spreading it nationwide with the intent of inciting public disorder.
The DSS further claimed that Ibrahim Olanrewaju, Adetu Adekunle, and Fatimoh Adetola conspired to commit a felony by deliberately misdirecting electronic messages on social media to embarrass the agency and its officials.
Additionally, the prosecution accused Ibrahim Olanrewaju and Adetu Adekunle of using an iPhone 12 Pro Max to record and share misleading content online, allegedly intending to discredit the DSS and provoke public unrest.
The charge also stated that Adetu Adekunle, on or about February 17, 2025, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, used a Techno POP 8 to record and circulate false information on social media with the alleged intent to undermine the DSS and disrupt public order.
The offences, as outlined by the DSS, violate Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as well as Sections 27(1)(b), 24(1)(b), 24(c)(i), and 11 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended), 2024.
[NaijaNews]
The Magistrate Court sitting in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos State, on Tuesday, acquitted popular musician, Abdulazeez Fashola, popularly called Naira Marley, in relation to the death of Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad.
Channels TV reports that Magistrate Ejiro Kubenje, who read and implemented the legal advice issued by the Directorate of Public Prosecution, Lagos, said that Naira Marley had no case to answer.
Alongside Naira Marley, the court reportedly freed music promoter, Samson Balogun, known as Sam Larry; Owodunni Ibrahim, also called Primeboy; and Mohbad’s former manager, Opere Babatunde.
The DPP, however, said it shall be prosecuting the auxiliary nurse who treated Mohbad, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, and one of Mohbad’s friends, Ayobami Sadiq for the offence of reckless and negligent acts contrary to Section 251 (e) of the Criminal Law, Ch C.17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The duo will be prosecuted at the magistrate court.
[Punch]
More...
Nigeria’s largest flag carrier, Air Peace, has dismissed reports that its Chairman, Allen Onyema, was stranded at the Ekiti State Agro Allied International Cargo Airport for 24 hours due to the airport’s lack of navigational aids.
The airline’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr Ejike Ndiulo, in a statement, described the reports as false, inaccurate and misleading.
Ndiulo said the aircraft scheduled to pick up Onyema and his team on Saturday evening could not land in Ekiti due to poor weather conditions and was rerouted back to Lagos.
Last Saturday, Onyema, enroute to receive an award from the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, landed at the Ekiti airport.
Reports, however, said when Onyema was to leave Ekiti on Saturday evening after receiving the award, his flight could not be cleared to take off because there were no navigational aids and his B737 could not work out a coordinate to fly out of Ekiti airport.
Dismissing these reports, Ndiulo stated: “We are aware of select online reports that the Chairman/CEO, Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema, was stranded for over 24 hours at the Ekiti State Agro Allied International Cargo Airport due to the airport’s lack of navigational aids on his recent visit to Ekiti.
“We want to categorically state that this report is false, inaccurate and misleading. This is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts designed to malign Air Peace and its leadership. The claim that his pilot took a risky manoeuvre to exit Ekiti airport to Lagos is an outright fabrication that irresponsibly suggests a breach of aviation safety protocols—something Air Peace would never engage in.
“The aircraft scheduled to pick up Onyema and his team on Saturday evening could not land in Ekiti due to poor weather conditions (heavy rain). As a standard safety precaution, the flight was rerouted back to Lagos. This is a routine occurrence in global aviation and not a reflection of any inadequacy on the part of the airport.
“At no point did any Air Peace flight engage in unsafe operations, contrary to the false narrative. Air Peace upholds the highest international aviation safety standards, with safety as our top priority.
“It is disappointing that someone chose to push a sensational and misleading narrative despite having been provided with the accurate sequence of events. This reckless journalism not only misinforms the public but also attempts to tarnish the reputation of Nigeria’s leading airline.
“At Air Peace, safety is not just a priority but a fundamental precondition for all our activities. We remain committed to maintaining safe and timely operations.”
[Vanguard]
Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu (APC-Abia) has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare the late Chief MKO Abiola as one of Nigeria’s former presidents, posthumously.
Kalu, who chairs the Senate Committee on Privatisation, said Abiola’s portrait should also be hung among that of Nigerian presidents.
He spoke at the National Assembly on Tuesday against the background of the recent admission by former military president, retired Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, that Abiola indeed won the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
The June 12, 1993, presidential election was adjudged to be the freest and fairest conducted in the country at the time.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Babangida, in his memoirs, “A Journey in Service: An Autobiography”, admitted that the late politician and philanthropist, won the election.
Kalu, a former governor of Abia, told journalists that with Babangida’s latest revelations, the controversy over the election had been laid to rest; hence, Tinubu should declare Abiola one of Nigeria’s presidents posthumously.
“Yes, Abiola won the election, and there’s no doubt about that. I would like them to put Abiola’s picture where other presidents’ pictures are.
“I will appeal to President Tinubu to swear him in posthumously and also allow his picture to be where you have that of former Nigerian presidents.
“We have already given him most of the honours. I’m very thankful to former President Muhammadu Buhari, who gave him a national award.
“This will help bring succour to his family,” Kalu said.
When asked whether he thought Babangida answered all the issues and debates his eight-year military rule generated in his book, Kalu responded that the memoirs were incomplete.
He suggested that the former military president should write the Vol. II of the book, to be devoted largely to unanswered questions around the June 12 election.
“I look forward to the second edition of Babangida’s book because the first did not reveal all the realities.”
The lawmaker also appealed to Nigerians to give Tinubu a chance to return as president in 2027.
“Many presidents in Nigeria who have not done very well have won their second time. We are appealing to Nigerian people.
“We are not going to ruffle ourselves in APC convention. We have only one presidential candidate, which is Bola Tinubu.
“We are not looking for any other person. The problem of Nigeria is some people not wanting to consolidate gains of reform.
“It may be very difficult today, very hard today. People are complaining but the reform is trickling down.”
(NAN)
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, should stop acting like a “crying child” and move on from the ministerial snub episode.
In July 2023, Tinubu sent the list of ministerial nominees, including el-Rufai, to the senate for screening and confirmation.
The senate withheld el-Rufai’s confirmation over petitions filed against him on security grounds.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, the ex-governor said Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee.
El-Rufai said Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet after publicly pleading with him beforehand to suspend his future plans and accept the ministerial appointment.
Reacting during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, Onanuga faulted el-Rufai for his “incessant complaints” about being excluded from Tinubu’s government.
The presidential spokesperson compared the ex-minister’s takes to that of a child “crying over spilt milk”.
“Well, as a person, I pity the former governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai. He feels hurt that he was not made a minister, but I think it has been a long time now,” Onanuga said.
“Ministers were appointed in August 2023, and I believe it’s time for him to move on. He cannot continue to behave like a child, as if someone stole his bread… crying over spilt milk, as we say.
“It is natural for him to feel hurt and bad about being excluded. However, as the president acknowledged in his recent tribute to him, Nasir actually played a significant role in helping to install President Tinubu.
“Still, if he is not part of the government, that does not mean he must bring down the roof. The president has nothing against him.
“I believe Nasir feels naturally hurt by his exclusion, which is why he is going everywhere campaigning against the president. This shows a man who resents being left out of the moving train and refuses to let go.
“As a brother and former governor, my advice to him is simple: he should forget about it if he was not made a minister.
“He has been in public service since 1999, and I think the hurt started when he was not appointed a minister. That explains why he has been making these statements.
“Even yesterday, in an interview with Arise TV, he claimed that it was the president who blocked his appointment.”
El-Rufai had also hinted at ditching the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
[TheCable]
The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has expressed uncertainty over his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
El-Rufai also stated that he is unsure whether he will remain in the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the next general election.
El-Rufai made this revelation on Monday while appearing on Prime Time on ARISE News Channel.
During the interview, El-Rufai was asked about his stance on Tinubu’s second-term ambition, but he declined to give a definite response, stating that his decision would be based on future circumstances.
He stated, “I don’t know (if I will support Tinubu in 2027). I will evaluate the situation at the time, and I will consult widely. When I supported President Tinubu before the primaries, it was a decision that the leaders of APC took in Kaduna. Who do we support? We succeeded in ensuring that power goes to the south, and we know that all the northern candidates will go nowhere, Yahaya Bello, Ahmed Lawan, we knew.
“But among the southerners, who do we support, they know those that are my friends. Tinubu was not my friend. I was never close to him. But the consensus of the APC in Kaduna was that we should support Bola Tinubu because he is the one that is more likely to win. Politicians make these calculations.
“In 2027, I’m going to consult the same people. We are going to take the same decision, which candidate to support and in which party.”
Asked if he would support a Southern candidate in 2027, El-Rufai said he couldn’t answer the question because he is no longer a governor.
He said, “Now I’m a private citizen. I’m not sure I would be in the APC 2027, so I cannot answer that question… Now in 2027, I will not be a governor, so I will not have the sort of clout that I had in 2023.”