A fresh family dispute has emerged among the sons of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai after Bashir El-Rufai publicly attacked his elder brother, Bello El-Rufai.
Bello, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was accused by Bashir of substance abuse, hypocrisy and betraying their family over the political disagreement between their father and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani.
In a series of social media posts, Bashir made several harsh claims against his brother.
He wrote: “I have a useless excuse for a brother, with his bony-ass face coated with an unknown white substance around his nostrils every night. That is your Member of the House of Representatives, representing a whole constituency, but he prefers alcohol and cocaine.”
Bashir also reacted angrily to an alleged statement by Bello telling him to kill himself.
“Wawa (Fool). Telling me to kill myself. The idiot should first slaughter his daughter, then I will believe he is real and serious,” he wrote.
He further accused Bello of abandoning the family while he remained close to Governor Sani.
“He was stuck with Uba Sani until he realised he was being dumped, then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Where was he before then?” Bashir said.
According to Bashir, his brother was acting in his own political interest.
“He is purely serving his own interests. When people like us were countering the ‘towel governor,’ the bastard was nowhere to be found—hiding, eating, and wiping his mouth. This is the same idiot who asked me to pipe down on my criticisms,” he added.
Governor Sani was once a close ally and political associate of Nasir El-Rufai. However, their relationship became strained after Sani said his administration inherited debts of $587 million, N85 billion and 115 contractual liabilities.
Sani said the financial burden affected the state government’s ability to pay salaries and carry out development projects.
The disagreement between the two politicians has also caused divisions among El-Rufai’s sons.
Bashir has repeatedly criticised Sani on social media, accusing his administration of poor performance.
Bello, however, initially kept his distance from Bashir’s attacks and maintained his support for Sani, whom he described as a political mentor.
Bashir’s latest comments accuse Bello of returning to the family after his relationship with Sani became strained, describing his actions as politically motivated and a betrayal of the family.