Gov Sani was ‘my boy, not my friend’ — El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed rumours of a fallout with his successor, Governor Uba Sani, insisting that the two were never friends.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai clarified that while he mentored Sani and played a major role in his rise to the governorship, their relationship was not one of friendship.

El-Rufai stated this amid reports that the duo were at loggerheads following his criticisms of the Federal Government’s policies and the Kaduna State Government.

“I’ve not fallen out with the governor. No, he is not my friend. He was my boy, my mentee. We have not fallen out. I still don’t speak with him,” El-Rufai said.

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stressed that his greatest pride has always been nurturing people into positions of influence, even when they surpass him in status.

“My biggest pride in life is that I have encouraged and elevated many people to greatness, some even greater than me, and I am very proud of it,” he said.

However, El-Rufai insisted that his history with Sani does not mean he should remain silent when he feels his protégé is going astray.

“But when a person derails, when he doesn’t do the right thing, because I contributed to getting him there, I am prohibited from commenting? Is that what the country has become?” he asked.

El-Rufai also accused the governor of being behind the violence that erupted at the Kaduna African Democratic Congress (ADC) transition committee inauguration last Saturday.

According to him, there is credible evidence linking Sani to the attack on opposition politicians.

“I have evidence; Kaduna State Governor is behind Saturday’s attacks. I will submit evidence to the IGP and other authorities if they care to investigate,” he alleged.

The former governor further decried what he described as a collapse of policing in Nigeria, saying that security operatives watched passively as political thugs disrupted the event.

The violent incident occurred during the inauguration of a transition committee jointly set up by opposition parties in Kaduna State. Suspected thugs stormed the venue, leaving chaos in their wake.

El-Rufai, now aligned with the opposition coalition that adopted the ADC as its platform for the 2023 elections, has since distanced himself from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

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