No Apology Leaving El-Rufai’s Camp, Ex-Allies Tell Critics

Former political associates and grassroots allies of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai have rejected accusations of betrayal over their decision to leave his political camp.

The former allies said they were not interested in turning their disagreement with El-Rufai into a personal war, but insisted that they would not apologise for exercising their political independence. “We are adults, and we have made our decision,” they said.

They said it was the former governor El-Rufai who abandoned the political understanding that had bound them together.

They argued that political loyalty could not be treated as a permanent debt, saying El-Rufai had the right to make political choices based on changing circumstances and that his former associates possessed the same right.

The ex-allies asked why those who had supported him should be denied the freedom to determine their own political future.

The group, under the platform of Kaduna De-Initiative, said its members supported, campaigned for, defended El-Rufai and helped build political structures across Kaduna State, but decided to move on after years of what they described as growing political disagreements, marginalisation and a breakdown of mutual trust.

Their position was signed by former Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon. Mukthar Isa Hazo, and former Kaduna State SDP Chairman and four-time House of Assembly member for Ungwan Sanusi Constituency, Hon. Nasiru Abdullahi Maikano, listed former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ja’afaru Sani; former Education Commissioner, Dr. Shehu Usman Makarfi; former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and Finance and two-time Chief of Staff to El-Rufai, Hon. Bashir Saidu; and former commissioner and senator, Abdu Kwari, among those involved in the realignment.

The group said it was not “a handful of disgruntled individuals looking for political relevance”, stressing that its members had contested elections, won and lost elections, mobilised communities and built political relationships across the state’s 23 local government areas.

“We did not abandon El-Rufai; rather, we believe El-Rufai abandoned the political understanding that had bound us together,” it said.

According to the former allies, the relationship began to deteriorate after El-Rufai’s re-election in 2019, when former political associates increasingly felt excluded from the centre of decision-making while members of the former governor’s family were perceived to be assuming greater influence in government affairs.

The group said its grievance was not that El-Rufai relied on family members or trusted associates, but what it described as the growing dominance of family interests and the consequent weakening of the political structure that had supported his administration.

It said the political relationship was already seriously strained by 2023 and deteriorated further after El-Rufai left office, with the decisive rupture coming during the politics surrounding the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship primary.

The group explained that Ja’afaru Sani was regarded within their political camp as the preferred successor and the figure around whom their structure would be organised for the 2027 governorship contest, but El-Rufai allegedly supported Isa Ashiru, his former political rival.

Ashiru subsequently emerged as the ADC candidate with 86,113 votes against Sani’s 29,580 votes, while Sani rejected the result and alleged irregularities.

The former associates further alleged that El-Rufai’s support for Ashiru was connected to an effort to retain political influence over a possible Ashiru administration.

They acknowledged that the allegation had not been independently established by a court or formally documented in a public agreement.

The group said its experience should also be viewed against what it described as a wider history of changing political relationships around El-Rufai.

It listed former SSG Balarabe Lawal Abbas; former Chief of Staff Hadiza Bala Usman; former Chief of Staff and Budget Commissioner Moh Sani Dattijo; former Deputy Governor Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe; former Education Commissioner Prof. Adamu Danfulani; former Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Daniel Manzo Maigari; former Education and Local Government Commissioner Dr. Shehu Mohammed Makarfi; and former Water Resources Commissioner Arc. Ibrahim Hamza.

Others listed were former Works and Budget Commissioner Thomas Gyang; former KADIRS Chairman Mukhtar Monrovia; Senator Sule Hunkuyi; Senator Sani Saleh; Hon. Abbas Tajuddeen; Hon. Garba Datti Babawo; Hon. Ahmed Munnir; former Speaker Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani; former Speaker Aminu Shagali; current Speaker Yusuf Liman; former Political Adviser Ben Kure; former National Population Commissioner Dr. Abdulmalik Durunguwa; and former Federal Character Commission Commissioner Hadiza Muazu.

The group clarified that the listed individuals did not necessarily share identical reasons for their political differences with El-Rufai and that not every case amounted to a complete or permanent political break.

Rather, it said the list demonstrated that political relationships were dynamic and that former associates could not automatically be dismissed as disloyal simply because they changed political direction.

It also rejected the suggestion that El-Rufai alone created the political structures that produced electoral victories, noting that CPC and PDP politicians, grassroots organisers, former elected officials and established political networks existed in Kaduna before his emergence as the dominant political figure.

It cited Bashir Saidu as one of those involved in the political structure before El-Rufai’s rise and who later served in senior positions in his administration.

The group said its decision was not motivated by hatred or a desire for revenge, but by the need to take responsibility for its political future and that of its followers. It announced that Kaduna De-Initiative had accepted Governor Uba Sani’s reconciliation initiative and returned to the APC.

They said the realignment would involve its political structures, networks and grassroots supporters across Kaduna State, with the group pledging to focus on security, education, infrastructure, employment, economic opportunities and peaceful coexistence.