Kaduna dep gov drops ambition, supports El-Rufai’s guber candidate

The deputy governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, has expressed support for Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s consensus governorship candidate, Sen Uba Sani, who was endorsed by the governor on Wednesday in Kaduna.   The deputy governor, who was on the list of the top three aspirants earlier tipped to replace El-Rufai, was said to […]

The deputy governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, has expressed support for Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s consensus governorship candidate, Sen Uba Sani, who was endorsed by the governor on Wednesday in Kaduna.  

The deputy governor, who was on the list of the top three aspirants earlier tipped to replace El-Rufai, was said to have been offered to serve as Uba Sani’s running mate but had rejected the offer.

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However, in what pundits described as a fence mending strategy, the deputy governor in a statement yesterday expressed support for El-Rufai’s decision and called on her supporters to massively support the APC at all levels in the forthcoming 2023 elections.

“I want to extent very special appreciations to HE, Mal Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai for the trust and believe in my capacity that led to my being his running mate/deputy. I believe his actions during this period have left no one in doubt that he has trust in me. These are privileges I will forever relish, cherish and hold dear, for the rest of my life,” she stated.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that Balarabe was said to have rejected El-Rufai’s offer in the presence of other senior cabinet members within the week. An insider told our correspondent that despite her tact in rejecting the offer, it had been received in bad taste.

“This is a fence mending approach because some people are already selling the idea that there is a crack within El-Rufai’s cabinet and she needs to prove that it is one big family,” he said.

In her statement, the deputy governor had appreciated individuals, youth groups, women groups, elderly person-groups as well as Christian and Muslim groups who raised their voices and sacrificed their resources to show support for her to join the 2023 race to Kashim Ibrahim House.

“To those that reached out personally and those I had the privilege of engaging on the workability of this project, I say thank you for the experience. I found strangers who became friends and a commitment to stay true no matter what. I do not take the moments we have shared for granted and I thank Allah for giving me the opportunity of meeting you. Your actions thus far only reaffirmed very critical issues for me, that you hold me in high esteem and that you have confidence in my abilities. May Allah continually shower His special grace and favors upon you all,” she stated.