A former Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Alhaji Muktar Isa-Hazo, has said the associates of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai did not abandon him, but left him in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with those who previously hated him and are now using him for selfish interests.
Isa-Hazo, who represented Basawa Constituency and an ally of El-Rufai, said he remains an associate of the former governor but differs with him on political alignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The lawmaker made the remark in reaction to El- Rufai’s claim that some of his associates and friends had abandoned him or remained silent while he is facing trial.
In an interview with journalists on Friday, Isa-Hazo accused family members around El-Rufai of misleading him while in detention.
“I’m still El-Rufai’s associate, but we just differ on political alignment. Nobody abandoned former Governor Nasir El-Rufai; when it mattered, the people he needed most were with him,” he said.
“But now, maybe some people are claiming that they are with him. Whereas they are just taking advantage of his position to benefit themselves in certain situations, where they think they can excel. They are just using his name. Our political alignments differ.”
He added that some genuine associates moved back to the All Progressives Congress (APC), because those who disliked El-Rufai most before are now parading themselves as his allies.
“Some of us moved back to the APC because those who hated him most before are now trying to associate themselves with him. And certain individuals who surround him believe it is a good omen. Whereas the genuine people who really love him, care about him, and associate with him think it is not right,” Isa-Hazo said.
“He was misled. You know he is in detention, so he doesn’t know what is going on. Really, the actual thing going on outside now, that is happening outside now. Whatever he is being fed outside now, he is working on. And those people who used to see him are his close family, you know. So, whatever they tell him, that is what he banks on,” he alleged.
Isa-Hazo further alleged that El-Rufai never gave his real associates political direction before and while in detention.
“Sincerely speaking, I’m telling you now, we who associate with him, he has never once called us and said, ‘ This is where my direction is. At this point, each and every person follows his own mind and thinks about what is right for him to do. That’s all.
“It is not that he is abandoned by those who are associated with him. No, the political alignment now shifts. Everybody is following his mind,” he said.
Meanwhile, some of El-Rufai’s associates and allies, including former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sani Jafaru, and his former Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Finance, Sa’idu Bashir, did not answer or return calls placed to their phones regarding the allegations.
