Kaduna: El-Rufai brothers clash as Bashir questions Bello’s political allegiance

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has criticised his elder brother, Bello El-Rufai, accusing him of maintaining political loyalty to Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani at the expense of the family.

Bello El-Rufai is the member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Bashir made the allegations in a series of posts on his X handle on Saturday, where he accused his brother of continuing to support Governor Sani despite the political fallout between Sani and their father.

According to Bashir, Bello remained with Sani for political reasons before eventually joining their father in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

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“Stuck with Uba Sani until he realised he is being dumped, then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to ADC. Where was he since? Purely serving his interest,” Bashir wrote.

Bashir also alleged that his brother had asked him to moderate his criticism of Governor Sani, whom Bello previously served as a legislative aide while Sani was a senator.

“Pipe down my criticism of his former boss. At this stage in my life, I hate nonsense,” he said.

Some of Bashir’s posts were later deleted.

The disagreement comes against the backdrop of a wider political realignment involving the El-Rufai family.

Nasir El-Rufai left the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the ADC following a growing political disagreement with his successor, Governor Uba Sani. Bello subsequently joined his father in the opposition party.

Bello had previously served as a legislative aide to Sani during his time in the National Assembly between 2019 and 2023.

Meanwhile, Nasir El-Rufai is facing corruption-related legal proceedings following investigations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). He has been charged before courts in Abuja and Kaduna over allegations bordering on corruption and abuse of office, which he has denied.

The former governor is also facing a separate case at the Federal High Court in Abuja relating to alleged unlawful wiretapping brought by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Bello El-Rufai had not publicly responded to Bashir’s latest allegations as of the time of filing this report.