The Presidency has accused former Governor Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna State of stirring political tension and divert attention from corruption allegations levelled against him in Kaduna State.
Presidential spokesperson, Temitope Ajayi, in a post on his verified X handle, stated this in response to recent el-Rufai’s letter to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu on the alleged procurement of Thallium Sulphate.
Ajayi denied that the government purchased or imported Thallium Sulphate into Nigeria through the Office of the National Security Adviser, adding that the former governor has already received an official response from the NSA’s office but deliberately withheld it from the public.
The statement said “Malam El-Rufai certainly got a reply to his letter from the NSA’s office and he should be honourable enough to release it just as he mischievously released his own letter,” the statement read.
The presidency cited the Kaduna State House of Assembly’s reported unanimous endorsement of a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Finacial Crimes Commision (EFCC) seeking an investigation into alleged financial improprieties amounting to N432 billion during the former governor’s tenure.
It said the anti-graft agency had since sent invitation to el-Rufai for questioning.
The presidency accused el-Rufai of using his ’s inquiry letter to the NSA, of spreading misinformation to generate fear and cause unrest, while showing himself as a victim of persecution.
Ajayi said el-Rufai’s actions tantamount to creating political instability through deliberate misinformation, and to draw public attention away from the corruption allegations raised against him in Kaduna State.
The presidency said the former governor was trying to “nationalise his personal challenges” with the Kaduna State Government, adding that the controversy has nothing to do with President Bola Tinubu nor the National Security Adviser, but about the former governor’s dwindling political fortune in the state after eight years in office.
Ajayi said el-Rufai who had lost his support base in Kaduna, including political allies, after falling out with Governor Uba Sani, should desist from what it described as political theatrics and instead address the allegations against him through appropriate legal and institutional channels.
