Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has debunked the rumour that he has left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and has decamped to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A close aide to the former governor told Channels Television that the rumour is the handiwork of mischief makers, noting that El-Rufai, being a prominent political figure, couldn’t have decamped to the PDP without making it public.
Also reacting to the rumour on his verified X handle, formerly known as Twitter, El-Rufai asked the public to disregard the rumour and patent lies about his political affiliation.
He also said that he has referred the lead peddlers of the fake news to his lawyers for legal action.
“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 on Sunday.
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 Kaduna governor was unable to scale the ministerial screening hurdle. The senate had withheld his confirmation over security clearance.
The development meant that the former Kaduna governor could not be sworn in as a minister despite being nominated by President Bola Tinubu.
The decision of the senate was perceived in some quarters as a move to whittle the political influence of the former Kaduna 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 Uba Sani, his successor, even though both men are members of the APC.
Recently, the former Kaduna governor shared an article on X in which Tinubu was being criticised for alleged ethnic bias in the leadership structure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.