Debt Dispute Unfolds: El-Rufai’s son, Bello, counters brother’s criticism of governor Sani
Bello El-Rufai, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and member of the House of Representatives, has made it clear that he does not align with the recent outburst of his brother, Bashir El-Rufai, towards Senator Uba Sani, the Governor of Kaduna State.
During a town hall meeting held in Kaduna, Governor Sani disclosed that his administration inherited a significant amount of debt from the previous El-Rufai administration, totaling $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities. Despite this financial challenge, Governor Sani emphasized that his administration had been able to fulfill its obligations.
Bashir El-Rufai, unhappy with the governor’s revelation, used Twitter to criticize Governor Sani, accusing him of trying to deflect attention from his administration’s shortcomings.
Bashir tweeted: “These guys have realised that they are wholly incompetent, and the only way to mask the nonsense is to deflect.
“From a Governor who is always sleeping in Abuja to a litany of incompetent aides who were only rewarded for foolish political reasons.”
READ ALSO: APC suspends women leader over criticism of Kaduna Governor’s debt claims
However, Bashir’s brother, Bello, in a tweet, distanced himself from his outburst and reiterated his loyalty to the governor.
Bello, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, said: “It’s a known thing in politics that some people won’t rest unless there are fights between one another. I am in the middle, and I could even be meeting with the governor tonight in thirty minutes.
“Two weeks ago, I had to call my brother and tell him to drop a tweet. I did that today, but he refused. He is over 30 years old. People should stop confusing our handles.
“I am loyal to Governor Uba Sanni, and I will not criticize him publicly. No one will make me do that. He mentored me, gave me my first government job, and believed in my election. This, too, shall pass. The rural development being done in Kaduna State is impressive.
“Nigeria, as a whole, not just Kaduna, is facing financial constraints. As leaders, we are all elected to do what we can with what we have and improve it. I honestly do not see what the fuss is about.”
He added: “The governor is the leader of the state, and for the sake of transparency, even though Mallam as the outgoing governor put it in his outgoing speech how much money he is leaving in the state, it is within the governor’s—let me take that back—it is the duty, of course, for the sake of transparency, to let the citizens of the state know the financial condition.
“And now, let me clarify, social media attacks will never shake my boss, Governor Uba Sani. So, a few attacks from people for obvious reasons coming at him is not the reason he did what he did.”
