ABUJA – Kaduna State Government, on Thursday, described former governor of the state, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, as a frustrated politician, who was sinking and determined to drag others along.
It also reminded El-Rufai that Kaduna State was alive and thriving, and that no amount of drama from his political leftovers in the. coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) will change that.
The government, while noting that the sort of violence identifiable with the El-Rufai administration had no semblance with the Sani government, dismissed allegations that it was plotting to rig tomorrow’s bye-elections in Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency and Zaria, Sabon-Gari state constituencies.
ADC and Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kaduna State had accused the state government of plotting to rig in tomorrow’s elections.
The coalition led by ADC National Vice Chairman (North-west), Jafaru Sani, had at a press conference, on Thursday, alleged that the Kaduna State government was plotting to use thugs to disrupt the elections and buy votes.
The ADC vice chairman, who was accompanied by El-Rufai and the Kaduna State chairman of ADC, alleged that the state government was planning to rig the elections through mass recruitment of thugs, bribery of electoral officials and vote buying.
But in his reaction, Kaduna State Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Maiyaki, described the allegations as baseless, mischievous, and a desperate attempt to discredit an election the coalition knew it could not win.
“Democracy in Kaduna is alive and thriving and no amount of theatre from El-Rufai’s political leftovers in ADC will change that,” the commissioner stated.
He described El-Rufai as a “frustrated politician who is sinking and wants to drag others along”.
In addition, he dismissed allegation by the coalition that local government funds were illegally deducted for the bye-elections.
Speaking at a press briefing in his office, Maiyaki, who was flanked by his counterpart from the Ministry for Local Government, Sadiq Mamman-Lagos, said the ADC/SDP coalition’s “poorly attended rallies” in recent weeks had already exposed their rejection by the electorate.
He said allegations by the coalition that plots of land were being offered to senior INEC officials as inducement were also false.
The information commissioner said the state government had no role in the conduct of elections, being the exclusive responsibility of INEC.
“We will not sit idly by while political opportunists smear the name of our administration and malign innocent officials with wild, unsubstantiated claims,” he said.
Maiyaki said the government had directed its lawyers to study the allegations for possible legal action.
He reminded journalists of a past incident where “the former governor sent thugs to the NUJ Secretariat, injuring many colleagues,” saying such violence was alien to Sani’s leadership style.
“As we speak, the governor is in Chikun LGA flagging off the construction of Romi–Karatudu Township Road, a community abandoned and demolished under El-Rufai’s eight-year rule,” he said.
Maiyaki accused the coalition of being unsettled by Sani’s inclusive leadership, which, according to him, had united the state and delivered tangible development.
He urged voters to come out en masse tomorrow and disregard the “rantings of political jobbers” masquerading as defenders of democracy.