It’s not my job to reconcile my father with Uba Sani, says Bello el-Rufai

Bello, son of Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, says it is not his place to mediate the dispute between his father and Uba Sani, the incumbent governor of the state.

Bello, a member of the house of representatives, said this in an interview with BBC.

Recent political developments indicate that el-Rufai and his successor, Sani, are not on good terms.

Both politicians recently traded blame over the handling of public funds in the state.

In June 2024, the Kaduna assembly recommended the probe of el-Rufai over allegations of public funds diversion and money laundering.

Some of el-Rufai former cabinet members have been charged in court over alleged corruption.

Speaking during the interview, Bello said while he is not against a probe, it shouldn’t be a tool for a witch hunt.

“It is not a bad thing to investigate but it should be done with clear intention and not to humiliate anyone or because someone has offended you. But if you are doing it for selfish reasons, Allah will judge. Allah will forgive your frailties, but will not overlook the harm you inflict on someone,” he said.

He said that the rift between his father and Sani is not as serious as reported, suggesting that it may have been exaggerated.

“It is not pleasant for us, even if someone is my enemy, I do not like to see him fighting another enemy. I want peace,” he said.

“Marriages break up; friends stop being friends; it is just a matter of leaving the relationship despite all the conflicts that arise.

“None of them (Sani and el-Rufai) told me anything about the conflict, I just realised that it’s over now.”

Asked if he could reconcile his father with Sani, Bello retorted: “It is not my job. My job is to focus on helping the people of Kaduna north constituency.”

“I like peace and maintaining trust. For me, there is no one who is better than Mallam Nasiru politically. He only puts his work first and there is no one I want to be like him. He is my father, a father is a father.”

Bello added that he was surprised that people expected him to speak on the matter.