“El-Rufai Is My Brother, I Have No Problem With Him — Isa Ashiru

African Democratic Congress ADC governorship candidate, Hon. Isa Ashiru Kudan, has declared that former Governor Nasir El-Rufai is his brother and that he has no problem with him, despite the fact that in 2023 El-Rufai as the outgoing APC governor fought against him to retain power for Governor Uba Sani.

Ashiru, who was the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in 2023, and El-Rufai, who was then the incumbent governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were fierce political rivals. El-Rufai deployed his incumbency to support Uba Sani to succeed him.

Three years later, the political alignment has changed. Both men are now in the same opposition coalition, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, ahead of the 2027 general elections, while El-Rufai is currently in detention following charges filed by the Kaduna State Government under Governor Uba Sani.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with DCL Hausa and monitored by Northern Nigeria Hub, Ashiru spoke extensively on the 2023 election, El-Rufai’s detention, his relationship with El-Rufai, the Kaduna State House of Assembly, and his plans for 2027.

ON 2023 ELECTION DEFEAT:

When asked that it appears he has gained a lot of experience and what he would do to defeat Governor Uba Sani this time around, considering that he lost woefully to him in 2023, Ashiru rejected the claim.

“I did not lose woefully in 2023. What happened has happened, that is history. What I want to assure you now is that the complaints on the ground in Kaduna State have gone beyond the reasoning of a sensible person,” Ashiru said.

When pressed further on why he said he did not lose woefully, he insisted he won.

“I want to assure you, not just in Nigeria, but the whole world knows I defeated them in the election. What went and came back is left to them. Do you suspect something happened? I strongly suspect something happened. And I have left it to God,” he added.

ON EL-RUFAI’S DETENTION AND GOVERNOR UBA SANI’S ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT:

The presenter asked him about allegations that Governor Uba Sani has a hand in the continued detention of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

Ashiru responded:

“The talk about whether politics is involved in detention is political talk. It is politics. But the issue of Malam Nasiru being in prison every day is real, it is true, it is not a lie. Is it the Kaduna State Government that is accusing him? We are not saying Malam Nasiru has no case to answer. If you are accused, you should be taken to court and judged. Let him know his status. Let them stop moving him from one court to another. Let us all have the fear of God. Today it is you, tomorrow it is another person. If a person commits an offence, take him and punish him, let him know his position. If it is political persecution, then let them do the back-and-forth, but there is a day of reckoning,” Ashiru said.

ON HIS CURRENT RELATIONSHIP WITH EL-RUFAI:

When asked directly what his relationship is with Malam Nasir El-Rufai politically as it stands now, Ashiru said he has no problem with anybody, including El-Rufai and members of other parties.

“Malam, I want to assure you, not just Malam Nasir alone. Even with other parties, I have no problem with them. I relate with them because politics is not madness. Malam Nasiru is my brother, I have no problem with him. Politics  separated us, politics has now brought us together again. So I don’t have any problem with him,” he stated.

ON THE KADUNA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY:

Ashiru launched a scathing attack on the Kaduna State House of Assembly, saying he does not recognize it as a legislature.

“I don’t think we have a House of Assembly in Kaduna State. There are members but there is no Assembly,” he said.

When asked why he said so, he explained:

“The truth is they have become family members of the governor, whatever he wants is what he does. Nobody says anything, let alone do anything.”

The interviewer noted that the Assembly is seen as not carrying out its duties.

Ashiru queried:

“When was the last time they sat in the Assembly? You as a journalist should investigate. They have forgotten about sitting in the Assembly. There is a recess and work that is agreed upon. The law says if you spend 145 days, I’m not sure of the exact figure, if they don’t sit, the Assembly should be dissolved. But with a government like this, there is no Assembly in Kaduna State as it is now. They don’t do their work, they don’t sit as the law says. If they want them to come and do something, they will be called to come and sit in the Assembly and be paid to meet the government’s needs. But do you see that there is a good relationship between them? Well, if you see it, you know the meaning of a good relationship, you know how to phrase it,” Ashiru said.

ON 2027 STRATEGY AND FACING APC BIGWIGS LIKE SHEHU SANI AND YERO:

When asked how he intends to win the 2027 election given that political heavyweights like Senator Shehu Sani and former Governor Muktar Ramalan Yero are now in the APC alongside Governor Uba Sani, Ashiru declined to disclose his game plan.

He said his strategy for 2027 remains a closely guarded secret that will only be revealed at the appropriate time.

“You know, politics is not done in the open. You plan indoors and then you execute outside. Planning indoors is different from the execution outside. But as they say, a person who does not want to be disturbed keeps his plan on his lap. We have already planned. That is why I am saying this. On the day you take a bath, as the Hausa adage goes, you don’t hide your navel. So, we are fully prepared. We know them and they know us. And it will be contested,” Ashiru said.

When pressed further on the specific strategy he will adopt, he maintained:

“What the strategy is or what the strategies are, the situation and time will determine that. Are you a politician? For instance, would you reveal your political plans to everyone so they can go and leak it? That is our family secret. It is the foundation. Even if you want to demolish a wall, you must identify the one that should fall and the one that should remain. The situation and time will reveal that.”