Governor Nasir el- Rufai of Kaduna State has disclosed why he is being ‘attacked’ by Southern Kaduna leaders, following the killings and destruction of properties by suspected Fulani militias in the southern part of the state.
El-Rufai revealed that before now, previous administrations paid what he referred to as ‘peace money’ to the elites of Southern Kaduna.
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According to him, he has stopped the money; a development that had made them accuse him of taking sides in the prevailing attacks in the area.
The governor made the disclosure in an interview with tv station on Sunday night, monitored in Kaduna. El-Rufai stated that having stopped their ‘peace monies’, the Southern Kaduna elites are now churning out different narratives against his person, not minding whether it was true or not.
He also accused them (Southern Kaduna leaders) of being behind the crisis in the area, adding that they are now looking for money since the one they got during the elections has finished.
El-Rufai said: “The problem of the Southern Kaduna elites is that they have their own narrative and whether it is true or false, they stick to it, and anyone that has said something to the contrary has taken sides, even among them.
“This is one of the problems that frustrated my former deputy governor, Arch. Barnabas Yusuf Bala, to throw in the towel; to say I don’t want to be deputy governor, I will rather go and run for the senate.”
The governor further said he is focused and has no time for them, saying “I have no time for nonsense. I will not appease criminals. I will not appease idle people who have nothing to do but to raise a specter of genocide.
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They do that to get money into their bank accounts and get donations from abroad. “Anyone that is moderate, anyone that is promoting peaceful co-existence between various ethnic groups is considered a sellout.
And a governor like me, who does not appease them because they are used to being appeased, they cause troubles, they organise these killings and then, their leaders are invited by the governor, they wine and dine and they are given brown envelopes.
That’s what they have been doing for 20 years. “And we came into office and we said no more, anybody who does not encourage peaceful co-existence will not have access to the governor or the Government House.
I have no time for them. I am using the security agents to carefully mark them and when we accumulate enough evidence, we will get them and put them before a judge.” El-Rufai also disclosed that: “Most of these people (elites) have no means of livelihood; they were living off governments.
The governments before us were paying them money every month, they called it ‘peace money’. We stopped it. This is why they say I am taking sides. Whatever they say, I take it. I am the governor of the state. If they don’t abuse me, who will they abuse?”
