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

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai, who played a key role in Uba Sani’s emergence as governor in 2023, said their relationship was never one of friendship but of mentorship.

“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,” the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory said.

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El-Rufai stressed that he takes pride in raising and supporting people to leadership positions, but insisted that he would not shy away from criticizing anyone who, in his view, goes astray.

“My biggest pride in life is that I have encouraged and elevated many people to greatness, some even greater than me.

“But when a person derails, because I contributed to getting him there, am I prohibited from commenting? Is that what the country has become?” he asked.

The former governor also accused Uba Sani of masterminding the recent attack on opposition politicians during the inauguration of a transition committee of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna last Saturday.

“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, while lamenting that police officers stood by as thugs disrupted the event.

The incident left chaos in its wake after suspected political thugs stormed the opposition gathering.

El-Rufai, who has since distanced himself from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is now a leading figure in an opposition coalition that adopted the ADC as its platform for the 2023 general elections.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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