The wife of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Asia Mohammad Ahmad, has dismissed speculation that the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, was the person her husband had in mind when he spoke about friends and associates who had remained silent during his current ordeal.
Ahmad’s intervention came after a column by Professor Farooq Kperogi linked Sanusi to El-Rufai’s September 23 remarks, which sparked speculation over the identity of those the former governor said had failed to stand by him.
In a post on her verified Facebook page on Saturday, Ahmad said Sanusi remained with the family and urged the public to stop associating the monarch with El-Rufai’s comments.
“I want to clarify that HH is with us and Mallam’s post has nothing to do with HRH SLS, so pls stop alluding to things that you don’t know!” she wrote.
Kperogi, in his column titled, “Sanusi and the Betrayal of El-Rufai,” had examined whether the former Emir was among the people El-Rufai was referring to.
El-Rufai had said some friends, family members and associates whom he had supported in difficult times were now silent over his present circumstances.
Although he did not mention any name, the remarks triggered questions about who he was referring to.
Kperogi pointed to the long relationship between El-Rufai and Sanusi, especially the former governor’s support for the monarch following his removal as Emir of Kano in 2020.
Following Sanusi’s dethronement, El-Rufai appointed him Vice Chairman of the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency board and Chancellor of Kaduna State University.
The former governor also visited Sanusi in Awe, Nasarawa State, where the former Emir was taken after his removal.
Those events formed the basis of Kperogi’s speculation, although the professor acknowledged that El-Rufai had not named anyone and that identifying Sanusi remained an inference.
Ahmad has now rejected that inference, insisting that Sanusi was not the subject of El-Rufai’s remarks.
El-Rufai is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission over allegations arising from investigations into his administration. He has denied wrongdoing.
Neither El-Rufai nor his wife has identified the individuals the former governor was referring to.
For now, however, the family’s clarification has taken Sanusi out of the speculation surrounding the controversial remarks.