A former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has reacted to speculations that he has perfected plans to defect from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
On Sunday, a page on X claimed that el-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, was set to receive the membership card of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna.
Reacting to the post, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory said that rumours bordering on his political re-alignment were patent lies.
“Please disregard the patent lies and rumours about my political affiliation. I have referred the lead peddlers of the fake news for further action by my lawyers”, he wrote.
Since 2023, there have been rumours that el-Rufai, an APC chieftain, has been looking to pitch his political tent elsewhere.
The rumours began after the former governor was unable to scale the ministerial screening hurdle shorty after leaving office as governor in 2023. Nominated by President Bola Tinubu, the Senate withheld his confirmation, citing inability to scale security clearance.
The Senate decision was perceived in some quarters as a move to whittle the political influence of the former governor.
In Kaduna, el-Rufai’s eight-year tenure is being investigated for alleged corruption — a move that the former governor has dismissed as being politically motivated.
The probe suggests an underlying tension between el-Rufai and his successor, Senator Uba Sani, even as both men are members of the APC.
Recently, the former governor shared an article on X in which President Tinubu was being criticised for alleged ethnic bias in the leadership structure of NNPC Limited.
