Former Kaduna State Governor and ex-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai, has denied reports claiming that he said the presidency in 2027 should be zoned to Southern Nigeria.
El-Rufai made the clarification in a statement issued on Monday while reacting to a tweet by ADC News (@AdcNews_), which attributed to him the statement: “I refused to contest in 2027 because it is the turn of the South.”
The tweet, which gained significant traction on social media, also praised El-Rufai for allegedly keeping to a zoning agreement.
Dismissing the report as false, El-Rufai said only statements made directly by him on his verified social media platforms or during interviews with recognised media organisations should be attributed to him.
“I wish to reiterate that no views may be attributable to me unless those I explicitly express on my social media platforms or during interviews with respected media platforms,” he said.
He also cautioned against attributing to him opinion articles written by other authors, even when shared on his platforms, describing such practices as misleading.
“It is wrong and improper to attribute to me opinion articles from other authors which I may post on my handles as a contribution to the national conversation,” El-Rufai stated.
“These caveats are crucial as we confront both irresponsible politicking and the deliberate misuse of social media for spreading fake news.”
The former governor further criticised what he described as the reckless spread of misinformation, urging media organisations and social media users to uphold professional standards of verification.
“The wilful attribution to me of claims I did not make by a fake news platform is no excuse to treat such platforms with any seriousness,” he said.
“In this instance, a few senior editors seem to have ignored this duty. Society loses if media leaders join the most irresponsible actors on social media in the unedifying Olympics of fiction and fakery.”
El-Rufai reiterated that he never made any statement suggesting that the 2027 presidency should go to the South.
“This is an untrue claim, despite its virality,” he said.
“I did not say so in any of my speeches, interviews or social media posts. I have my own verifiable platforms where I speak my mind and own my opinions.”
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said zoning is not a priority for the party at this time. The party currently has three prominent presidential aspirants: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the North, and Peter Obi and Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi from the South.
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