Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has vowed to join politics to terrorise members of the All Progressives Congress in retaliation for what he called attacks on his family during its most fragile moment.
In a fiery post on his official X handle on Saturday, Bashir made it clear that forgiveness was not on the table, even if his father chose that path.
“Even if my father emerges from his ordeal like Gandhi and forgives and forgets, I won’t,” he declared.
“I will acquire power somehow for the sole reason of terrorising those (APC) that attacked like wolves upon my family at our weakest. Friend or foe, it won’t matter.”
The only person exempted from his wrath was Mahmud Ribadu, whom he described as his “biological brother.” Everyone else, he warned, was fair game.
The outburst comes against the backdrop of a deepening family crisis, with Bashir engaged in a very public and bitter war of words with his elder brother, Bello El-Rufai, who currently serves as a member of the House of Representatives.
Bashir did not hold back in his criticism of his brother, accusing him of hypocrisy, substance abuse, and prioritizing personal political survival over family loyalty. He alleged that Bello only remembered family ties when his political calculations with Governor Uba Sani fell through.
“Stuck with Uba Sani until he realised he was being dumped, then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to ADC. Where was he since? Purely serving his interest,” Bashir wrote.
The rift between the El-Rufai family and Governor Sani traces back to the governor’s public disclosure that he inherited a massive debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities from the previous administration, a revelation that soured relations between the two political heavyweights.
Meanwhile, Nasir El-Rufai remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, where he has spent roughly 200 days facing allegations of corruption, abuse of office, and money laundering during his eight-year tenure as governor. The former governor has consistently denied the charges, but court rulings have continued to deny him bail.
Bello El-Rufai had recently defected from the APC to the African Democratic Congress, following his father who left the ruling party in March 2025. The political realignment has only added more fuel to an already volatile family drama now spilling into the national political space.
Discussion about this post