‘I hold no grudge against friends who abandoned me’ — El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has reflected on the apparent silence of some of his colleagues, friends and family members during what he described as his recent difficulties.

El-Rufai said this in a post on his X account on Wednesday, accompanying a personal statement titled My Relationships and the Aftermath, dated September 23, 2026.

The former governor said he had spent his life supporting colleagues, friends, family members and humanity at large, guided by his Islamic faith, Arewa upbringing, personal values and conscience.

He said he had stood by people and causes he believed in, sometimes at considerable personal cost, without expecting praise, gratitude or reciprocity.

According to him, those were personal choices for which he remains responsible.

“By the same token, those I have supported are free to make their own choices now that circumstances are reversed,” El-Rufai said.

“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.”

El-Rufai said adversity had helped him gain a clearer understanding of some of his relationships.

“Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships,” he said, adding that his experiences over the past few months may lead him to quietly reconsider the nature of certain relationships and the expectations of those who look up to him.