Former political associates and grassroots allies of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have dismissed claims that they betrayed the embattled politician.
The former allies, under the aegis of Kaduna De-Initiative, explained that El-Rufai abandoned the political understanding that bound them together.
NEWSNGR reports that former Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Mukhtar Isa Hazo and other associates disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna on Thursday.
Also associated with the group is former Kaduna State Social Democratic Party chairman and four-time House of Assembly member for Ungwan Sanusi Constituency, Nasiru Abdullahi Maikano.
Others involved in the realignment include former commissioners Ja’afaru Sani, Shehu Usman Makarfi and Abdu Kwari, as well as former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and Finance and two-time Chief of Staff to El-Rufai, Bashir Saidu.
In the statement, the group said it supported, campaigned for, and defended El-Rufai, while helping build political structures across the state, before their relationship became strained by alleged marginalisation, disagreements, and a loss of mutual trust.
They also announced their return to the All Progressives Congress following Governor Uba Sani’s reconciliation initiative, saying the decision was based on the need to take responsibility for their political future and that of their supporters.
Rejecting the description of its members as disgruntled politicians seeking relevance, the group said, “We are not a handful of disgruntled individuals looking for political relevance.
“Our members have contested elections, won and lost elections, mobilised communities and built political relationships across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State.”
The group declared, “We did not abandon El-Rufai; rather, we believe El-Rufai abandoned the political understanding that had bound us together.”
The former allies traced the beginning of their differences with El-Rufai to his second term as governor, alleging that some of his former political associates increasingly felt excluded from decision-making after his re-election in 2019.
They also alleged that members of the former governor’s family gradually assumed greater influence in government affairs.
“Our grievance was never that El-Rufai relied on members of his family or trusted associates. The concern was the growing dominance of family interests and the weakening of the wider political structure that had supported the administration,” they said.
According to the group, the relationship was already seriously strained by 2023 and deteriorated further after El-Rufai left office.
It identified the politics surrounding the 2027 governorship contest on the African Democratic Congress platform as the final rupture.
The group said former commissioner Ja’afaru Sani was regarded by its political camp as the preferred successor and the politician around whom its structure would be organised for the 2027 election.
“Ja’afaru Sani was the person around whom our political structure was expected to rally for the 2027 governorship contest,” it said.
It alleged that El-Rufai, however, backed his former political rival, Isa Ashiru, during the ADC governorship primary.
“Instead of supporting the political arrangement we had built, El-Rufai chose to support Isa Ashiru, a former political opponent,” the group alleged.
The former allies argued that political loyalty could not be treated as a permanent debt, saying El-Rufai had the right to make political choices and that his former associates had the same right.
“Political loyalty cannot be treated as a permanent debt. El-Rufai had the right to make his political choices, and we also have the right to make ours,” they stated.
