El-Rufai To Former Allies: I Stood By You At Personal Cost, You Went Silent When I Needed You — “I Bear No Grudge”

Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has told his former allies that he stood by them at considerable personal cost in difficult times, but they went silent when he needed them the most.

In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, El-Rufai said he bears no grudge against friends, colleagues and family members who abandoned him despite all the sacrifices he made for them in the past.

El-Rufai, who made his position known in a statement titled “My Relationships and the Aftermath,” posted on his X handle, said he has seen betrayal up close but has chosen peace over revenge.

According to the former governor, some people had expressed concern over the loud silence of those he had closely associated with and publicly supported over the years.

“Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost. I did so not in expectation of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but because I believed it was right,” El-Rufai said.

He said those he supported are free to decide how to respond to his current travails.

“Some may speak; others may remain silent. Others may even deny our relationship or try rewriting history. Their reasons are their own, and I do not wish to judge them merely because their response differs from what others — or even I — might have expected,” he said.

El-Rufai noted that adversity reveals true character and true relationships.

“Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships,” he said, adding that what he has learnt during this period may cause him to “reconsider the nature of certain relationships.”

He stressed that such reflection is not condemnation.

“That is neither reproach nor condemnation; it is simply part of seeing people, and life, more clearly,” he said.

The former FCT Minister insisted he has no regrets standing by people when he believed it was right, and he will not allow the actions of others to change his principles.

“I have no regrets about standing by people or for causes when I believed it was right to do so, and I bear no resentment towards anyone who chooses not to do the same for me,” he stated.

He added that he seeks neither revenge nor retribution over any injustice done to him.

“As for any injustice, ingratitude or injury done to me, I seek neither revenge nor retribution. Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter.

“In the end, each of us must live with the choices we make, and posterity will render whatever verdict it sees fit. My only concern is to remain at peace with my conscience and, above all, with Almighty Allah,” El-Rufai concluded.