Former Kaduna State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed claims that he is supporting a Southern presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The speculation, which gained traction on social media, suggested that El-Rufai had abandoned backing for Atiku Abubakar, a Northern aspirant, in favour of the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, hailing from the South.
In a statement issued on Monday, El-Rufai described the reports as “untrue,” stressing that he has never expressed such views in any public forum, interview, or on social media.
“I have my own verifiable platforms on social media where I speak my mind and own my opinions,” El-Rufai said. He added that “no views may be attributable to me unless those I explicitly express on my social media platforms or during interviews with respected media platforms.”
El-Rufai further warned against misattribution, noting that reposting opinion articles from other authors should not be interpreted as an endorsement of their views.
“The wilful attribution to me of claims I did not make by a fake news platform is no excuse to treat such platforms with any seriousness,” he said. “In this age of turmoil and falsehood, the obligation to verify before posting has become ever more crucial. Society loses if media leaders join the most irresponsible actors on social media in the unedifying Olympics of fiction and fakery. Everyone should live up to their responsibility.”
