Former commissioners, political appointees and grassroots associates of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai have defended their decision to part ways with him, saying they were political partners rather than political property.

The former allies, under the Kaduna De-Initiative, said their support for El-Rufai was based on their belief in a political project and did not amount to surrendering their political identities, structures or supporters.

The position was signed by former Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon Mukthar Isa Hazo, and former Kaduna State Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chairman and four-time House of Assembly member for Ungwan Sanusi Constituency, Hon Nasiru Abdullahi Maikano.

They said members of the group, including former commissioners Ja’afaru Sani, Dr Shehu Usman Makarfi, Bashir Saidu and Senator Abdu Kwari, made significant contributions to the political structures that supported El-Rufai, alongside other grassroots politicians across the state.

The group said describing their decision to leave the former governor’s political camp as betrayal was unfair.

It maintained that political relationships are not permanent and that alliances can change when circumstances, interests, and objectives change.

The former allies said their decision reflected their right to determine their political future independently of past political associations.

“Are we not adults who can take our own political decisions?” the group quoted Bashir Saidu as asking, saying the same freedom that allowed them to support El-Rufai in the past should allow them to make different choices today.

It said the political relationship became increasingly strained after El-Rufai’s 2019 re-election, when, according to its account, former allies felt increasingly marginalised while members of the former governor’s family were perceived to be exercising growing influence in government affairs.

The group stressed that it did not question El-Rufai’s right to rely on family members or trusted associates, but said its concern was what it described as the consequent weakening of the wider political structure and the growing sense among former allies that their political relevance was diminishing.

It said the disagreement later became more pronounced after El-Rufai left office, particularly over the 2027 political realignment and the ADC governorship primary, where Ja’afaru Sani was regarded by their camp as a preferred successor.

According to the group, El-Rufai instead backed Isa Ashiru, his former political rival, who defeated Sani in the ADC direct primary with 86,113 votes to 29,580. Sani rejected the outcome and alleged irregularities in the process.

The former allies also alleged that the support for Ashiru was linked to an arrangement designed to retain El-Rufai’s influence over a possible ADC administration, including alleged plans to appoint two of his wives. They expressly acknowledged that the allegation had not been independently established by a court or formally documented in a public agreement.

The group said the development reinforced its belief that the political interests of former allies were no longer aligned with those of El-Rufai, adding that the central question was whether Kaduna’s political future should be shaped by the interests of the people who built political structures or by the interests of a few individuals.

It challenged El-Rufai’s supporters to examine not only why people left his political camp but also what happened to the relationships that made them leave. According to the group, repeated political departures deserved examination rather than automatic accusations of betrayal.

It argued that El-Rufai’s own political journey showed that political alliances can change, saying he had worked with different political actors and formations and had later found himself on opposite sides of political battles with some of them.

“If El-Rufai could make political choices based on his assessment of circumstances and interests, why should his former associates be denied that same right?” the group asked.

The former allies said their decision to move away from El-Rufai was not driven by hatred or political revenge, but by a desire to take responsibility for their political future and that of their supporters. They said Governor Uba Sani’s reconciliation initiative provided an opportunity to return to the APC and work for Kaduna’s future.

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They maintained that they were not interested in a personal war with El-Rufai and acknowledged his right to make his own political choices, but insisted that the same principle applied to them.

“We are not making this argument out of bitterness,” the group said. “We have chosen reconciliation. We have chosen to return to the APC. We have chosen to move forward,” adding that their political destiny belonged to them and the people who had entrusted them with their confidence. (The Nation)