BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Following months of incarceration over various court cases, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has broken his silence over his strained relationship with his detained predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Facing intense public scrutiny following months of Nasir El-Rufai’s incarceration over various court cases, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has vowed not to brag about what he has done for his detained predecessor in secret
He said the private efforts made to support El-Rufai would be kept away from the political spotlight, maintaining also that despite their perceived deeply fractured and highly publicized political fallout, he will never speak ill of the former leader.
Governor Sani made the defiant remarks against the backdrop of mounting pressure on his administration to clarify its stance on El-Rufai’s legal woes and continuous detention having been trapped in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) since February 18, 2026.
The obvious gridlock has remained despite the multiple legal maneuvers and high-stakes attempts to secure bail for the embattled ex-governor with all efforts repeatedly hitting a brick wall at the courts.
The Governor, who spoke on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, said he retained tremendous respect for El-Rufai, and considers it inappropriate to publicise everything he had done to demonstrate that regard.
According to him, “As a matter of respect, many things I’ve done to show my respect for him, my regard for him, I don’t think I should come out and say it. Because when you respect someone, you don’t come out to say certain things”
Responding to questions about his perceived silence over El-Rufai’s continued detention and whether he feared the former governor’s political influence ahead of the 2027 elections, Sani distanced himself from a reported comment suggesting that El-Rufai should remain in detention until after the next general election.
He said the person “who made the statement was speaking for himself. He’s not speaking for me”, adding that he had never spoken against El-Rufai and would not do so.
Governor Sani explained that political relationships for him was guided by his personal character and respect for those who had held public office before him, saying: “This is who I am. When I hold a person in high regard, everything good I have said about him, I stand by it. When I was in the Senate, I said a lot of good things about my leaders, and I stand by them.”
He further said: “One good thing I am happy about is that people can only quote me saying good things about people, but they have never quoted me saying bad things about my leaders. I think it is better you quote me saying good things about my leaders than hear me saying bad things about them. It is something I always pray to God not to let me do. For me, that is my character.”
The governor’s remarks, coming against the backdrop of a prolonged political fallout between the two men, with reports indicating that the former allies’ relationship has continued to deteriorate since Sani succeeded El-Rufai as Kaduna governor in 2023.
