Kaduna govt tags El-Rufai ‘frustrated, sinking politician’ amid by-election row

The Kaduna State Government has described former governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, as a frustrated politician “sinking and determined to drag others along,” dismissing allegations that it plans to rig Saturday’s bye-elections in Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency and Zaria and Sabon-Gari State Constituencies.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had accused the state government of plotting to disrupt the polls using thugs, bribery of electoral officials, and vote buying. At a press conference on Thursday, ADC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Jafaru Sani—flanked by El-Rufai and the party’s Kaduna chairman—alleged that the government had recruited thugs and was offering inducements to influence the outcome.

Reacting, Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Maiyaki, dismissed the claims as baseless and mischievous, accusing the coalition of attempting to discredit an election they knew they could not win. He said democracy in Kaduna was “alive and thriving” and insisted that Governor Uba Sani’s administration had no hand in the conduct of elections, which is the exclusive responsibility of INEC.

Maiyaki, who addressed journalists alongside the Commissioner for Local Government, Sadiq Mamman-Lagos, denied allegations of illegal deductions from local government funds and inducements to INEC officials.

He said the state had instructed its lawyers to review the allegations for possible legal action.

He also recalled a past incident in which El-Rufai allegedly sent thugs to attack journalists at the NUJ Secretariat, contrasting that with what he described as Sani’s peaceful and inclusive leadership style.

“As we speak, the governor is in Chikun LGA flagging off the construction of Romi–Karatudu Township Road, a community abandoned and demolished under El-Rufai’s eight-year rule,” Maiyaki said, accusing the opposition of being unsettled by Sani’s record of uniting the state and delivering development projects.

The commissioner urged voters to turn out in large numbers for the polls and ignore what he called “the rantings of political jobbers masquerading as defenders of democracy.”